Orange Sherbet

Owen has been obsessed with an idea lately.  We try to encourage any interest the boys show towards food or cooking and Owen was obsessed with making homemade orange sherbet.  We watched Alton Brown make it on Good Eats and since then Owen asked about it almost daily.

I cannot even describe how delicious it turned out.  It tastes so orange and the flavor is so clear.  As I was eating it I was thinking about how so many people and us included just don't even know what the "real thing" tastes like.  And I wondered if we sat a bunch of people down in a room and fed them the real thing if they wouldn't just instantly be converted to real food because they simply hadn't known what they had been missing?

Unfortunately for some people their taste buds have been assaulted with too much added salt, and too much added sugar, and too many artificial "natural flavorings"  for so long they can overlook real food upon first re-taste.   But I've seen my homemade chocolate pudding rock people's worlds before, and I'm going to bet that this orange sherbet would do the same.

It sure rocked mine.

Orange Sherbet Recipe

7 ounces sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, (2 to 3 pounds oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups very cold whole milk

In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the ingredients except the milk and process until the sugar is dissolved, approximately 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk in the milk. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F or below, approximately 1 hour. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You may serve now or transfer to a lidded container and place in freezer until firm, approximately 3 hours.

SERVES 8 (1/2 cup serving);