pomegranate sorbet

[yasuofenix]

hey all,

i work for an ice cream company and i was making pomegranate sorbet. We use Carpigiani machines and have Kelvinator blast freezers. Anyway, whenever I make the sorbet it doesn't freeze properly as opposed to everything else. Even when I get it as cold as possible almost to the point when the machine makes little banshee noises it still isn't the ideal consistency. Well it eventually does but only until the very end. My batches aren't big in size so its not straining the machine too much. The other issue is that it tends to deflate after being taken out. Now this isn't always the case, maybe some are put in a colder spot than others so it can freezer quicker.

So my question is has everybody ever heard of this? Does anyone know why this happens? What is it about pomegranate that doesn't allow it to freeze properly? Any thoughts are helpful.

Thanks.

[pastrygirl]

Pomegranates are very high in sugar, maybe the formula needs a little adjusting. I always have more trouble with 'juice' sorbets like pom or lemon than with 'puree' sopbets like apricot or strawberry. I think having more fruit solids really helps with texture.

I had a batch freezer at one job and it seemed like the cardamom ice cream was more likely to get overspun than any other flavor. Weird. Coincidence or chemistry?

[yasuofenix]

Thanks for the reply. I'll see about adjusting the sugar, right now the sugar added to the juice itself is rather low. In the past others have brought down the sugar, but I heard the flavor was a bit too much for some . Though to me most of the customers who want pomegranate want it that way anyway. And I think there were other problems that arose as well.

Where I work the creme fraiche is the worst. Once it passes that point of churning its all garbage. I use to walk by the sink and see a gallon of butter creme fraiche.

I know why creme fraiche can go bad but am still curious why some flavors get fluffy like a lot of berries and pineapple. I guess I'll have to get into chemistry.

[pastrygirl]

I think that with some fruits the pectin content might be a factor in fluffiness, except I don't think pineapples have much pectin. But raspberries, cranberries, and apricots do, and those can get pretty fluffy for me, more than say mango or kiwi.

Maybe the pomegranate just needs a little stabilizer, pectin or gelatin or a commercial stabilizer. You could add body with a fairly neutral fruit like pear, but then you wouldn't get a pure pomegranate flavor

I'm envious of your carpigiani!

[emilyr]

I think that with some fruits the pectin content might be a factor in fluffiness, except I don't think pineapples have much pectin.  But raspberries, cranberries, and apricots do, and those can get pretty fluffy for me, more than say mango or kiwi.

Maybe the pomegranate just needs a little stabilizer, pectin or gelatin or a commercial stabilizer.  You could add body with a fairly neutral fruit like pear, but then you wouldn't get  a pure pomegranate flavor

I'm envious of your carpigiani!

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Cranberries and pomegranate have similar flavors - or, at least, complimentary. Cranberry puree could add the stability you need without changing the flavor too much.

[Lisa Shock]

Are you making the juice yourself or buying it?

If you are buying it, you may want to have it checked. There have been problems with imported juices being adulterated and containing little or no pomegranate juice. Some experts believe that more pomegranate juice is being sold than orchards are capable growing. Here's a link to a Nurse's Blog entry on the topic.

[yasuofenix]

Thanks for the cranberry idea I'll have to try that out.

We buy the juice so I'll definitely have to check out where we get it. The last time I made it the juice was from a company called Indo-Aryan (or was it Indo-European?) out in California. This time around its from another company so I'll have to check it out when I get the chance. We don't make Pomegranate that often.

That article is crazy.

[Tiny]

When I've made pom sorbet in the past I've had a similar problem. I made sure that my recipe was correct, I used a refractometer to make sure the density was within range, I used sorbet stabilizer and froze it at a very low temp, but it would still sorta seperate in the freezer. What worked for me was to add a very very small amount of xanthan gum to the base before freezing, this fixed the problem. Also I found that making juice based sorbets works better if you use atomized glucose in your sorbet base as opposed to regular glucose, that way you get to your desired sugar density without diluting the flavor as much and adding any unnessecary water...

(actually all this was the chef I worked for's idea, don't want to take credit for something hats not my idea)

Edited August 11, 2008 by Tiny (log)