Pineapple Sorbet

A year or so ago my parents bought us an ice cream machine.

Being as busy as we are, I thought, "We will never use this." We stuck it in storage and forgot about it.

But this past month, driven by concerns with both dairy and budget, I got it out of storage to give it a try. Store-bought coconut ice cream is tasty, for sure, but it's also nearly $6 a pint! Eep!

I'm a girl who loves her frozen sweet treats, so I decided to investigate our new appliance.

Thar she is:

At first I was put off by how huge the ice cream machine was. We have a regular freezer and a side freezer out on the porch, but neither had room for something this large.

When I read the directions, however, I learned that the whole machine doesn't go into the freezer, just this small canister. (Duh.) I should have read the directions before I judged the appliance (sorry, Mom!).

We were having chicken tacos for dinner the next day, so I thought something nice and light was in order. Something to cut the spiciness. I rummaged around to see what fruit we had and stumbled upon two big cans of pineapple in juice. Perfect!

The ice cream maker came with directions for raspberry sorbet, so I modified them to use pineapple instead. It was delicious. It was also an incredibly simple recipe.

Here's my recipe:

Pineapple Sorbet

Ingredients:
4 c. canned or fresh pineapple (if canned, make sure it's in juice, not syrup)
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan on medium heat. Cook and stir until the sugar is warmed and completely dissolved, making a simple syrup.
2. Pureé the pineapple in a blender (we used our Magic Bullet) until smooth. Add the pineapple and a pinch of salt to the water and sugar mixture. Stir to combine.
3. Put the mixture into the fridge for 2 hours (or overnight) to cool. (It will look like pineapple soup!)

4. Pour the mixture into the ice cream freezer and let it run for 15-20 minutes. It will be soft. For harder sorbet, freeze in an airtight container for 1-2 hours.
5. Garnish with cilantro (if desired) and serve.

*If you don't have an ice cream machine you can freeze this mixture in small ramekins in the freezer for 3-4 hours. It won't have the same sorbet consistency (it will feel a bit more like a popsicle) but it will still be delicious!

Was it tasty? Well, my mom tried it and proclaimed it "Just like Haagen Daas!" I'd concur. Fresh, light, simple, and delicious.

I'm so happy to have stumbled upon our ice cream machine in storage. Now that I'm largely dairy-free, we will be using this ice cream maker a lot more!

Do you have any yummy frozen treat recipes to share?