Valencia Orange Sherbet, and Why Green is good when it comes to Valencia oranges

This post brought to you by Sunkist. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a kid growing up in California, Valencia oranges were something I looked forward to every summer.  They not only showed up on the shelves at the local supermarkets, but the our neighbors had a Valencia orange tree that was more than prolific enough to feed the entire street. during the summer, we ate a lot of oranges.

And we loved every minute of it.

When Sunkist contacted me and asked if I’d be willing to talk about Valencia oranges and share one of my favorite recipes with you, I was thrilled to say yes.  Summer is the time for these insanely sweet, juicy treats and I know the perfect way for you to make them even sweeter, if not juicier, than they start out.  Orange sherbet!

To make a perfect sherbet you’ll need sweet, ripe oranges.  In the case of Valencias however, it isn’t uncommon to find that some, or all, of the oranges in the store are still a bit green.  Do not fear, my friends. those oranges were picked at the height of perfection and the green skin doesn’t mean an underripe orange. Valencias have a tendency to Re-Green in the warm months of summer, as described in this video: Sunkist Valencia Oranges Re-greening Video.

So, now that you’ve run out and got yourself some of the summers best fruit, let me show you how to turn them into something even better than they started out. (Yes, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true!)

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Recipe: Valencia Orange Sherbet

Ingredients:

• 2 cups freshly squeezed Valencia orange juice (approximately 4 Oranges)
• zest of 2 oranges
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups half-and-half (Or 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup milk)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk until combined. (On a mixer, use setting 1 for about 10 minutes)
2. Test for sweetness. Add additional sugar if necessary and whisk to combine.
3. Assemble your ice cream maker and freeze the sherbet according to manufacturer’s instructions. For me this took about 25 minutes.
4. Transfer sherbet to an airtight plastic container and freeze at least two hours before serving.

Share and Enjoy!

Diet tags: Gluten free

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

Actually, this Sherbet would have been fine with a little less sugar. the end result was just a teensy bit sweeter than I would have liked, so be sure to add sugar a little at a time and adjust as necessary. Valencias are insanely sweet on their own, so it’s really a matter of adjusting to how sweet the oranges are on their own.

Links t other recipes like this:

• additional Sunkist citrus recipes