Recipe 30: Influenza Rx Sorbet

This past week, every member of our household has developed some form of flu, cold, or sinus infection – if not all of them at once.  Our apartment is now full of discarded pill wrappers, used tissues, half empty water glasses, and semi-pathetic coughs.  So I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try the Influenza Rx Sorbet recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer.  The ingredients are supposed to soothe, heal, clear, and disinfect, all while being rather tasty.

To be honest, this recipe is not the wonder cure the book promises, but it is good.  It’s this weird combination of soothing/burning because most of the ingredients give your mouth/throat the coolness it needs while the bourbon, ginger, and cayenne burns your throat and disinfects it.  It has the added benefit of actually making you feel better after consuming it, though not instantly as the book seemed to imply.  Either way, it’s a fun recipe that I’m glad I got to try, and I look forward to whipping it back up come the winter cold season.

Ingredients

• 2 cups orange juice
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup honey (I used orange blossom)
• ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
• One 3-oz packet liquid pectin (surprisingly easy to find at Kroger)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 tablespoons bourbon (optional; I used Woodford Reserve) 

Directions

1. Combine the orange and lemon juices, sugar, honey, and ginger in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Remove from heat.
2. Add the pectin and cayenne.  Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold – at least 4 hours.
3. Pour the cold base into an ice cream machine’s canister and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. When the sorbet is almost done, add the bourbon and churn for at least 5 more minutes (This will melt the sorbet a little.).
5. Once churned, transfer to a freezer-safe container.  Press a sheet of cling wrap directly against the surface and seal the container.  Freeze until firm – at least 4 hours.

The bourbon will prevent the sorbet from ever getting really hard, but it will also add a fairly harsh burn to it.  The original recipe calls for adding the bourbon in step 2, but that’s a good way to prevent the sorbet from ever actually churning.  Still, it’s your call.  Doing so might infuse the bourbon more evenly and take out the sting.  All I know is that next time I try this, I’m going to go sans-bourbon.  It might make it a little easier to eat lots of this at once (You can really only have two or three scoops in one sitting.  Otherwise, it starts to hurt.).

The resulting taste is sweet and citrusy with a burn that steadily grows at the back of the throat.  It’s great for soothing you if you feel hot and uncomfortable and actually does relieve a sore throat for a few hours.  It’s not quite a hot toddy or tea with honey, but it is pretty refreshing during the summer

cold season.

Enjoy!

Overview

• Base prep time: 20 minutes
• Base chill time: at least 4 hours
• Sorbet set time: at least 4 hours
• Taste: sweet, cool, and citrusy with the slight taste of bourbon and a burn at the back of your throat
• Difficulty: low
• Expense level: medium
• Makes: approximately 5 cups