Cucumber Sorbet

A refreshing and invigorating way to cool down this summer. This 3-ingredient cucumber sorbet is a definite summer staple!

If I could, I would go to the spa every morning. I’d get a massage, maybe a facial or a body wrap.

And then I would lounge for an hour or so listening to calming instrumentals while sipping on a giant glass of cucumber water and thumbing through food magazines. That sounds absolutely perfect to me.

While going to the spa every day is a luxuriously ridiculous and ludicrously expensive habit (especially given LA’s high prices), I will happily settle for an endless supply of cucumber sorbet.

With this sorbet in hand, I’ll be cool as a cucumber and happy as a clam all summer long.

3 ingredient cucumber sorbet

The beauty of this cucumber sorbet lies in its simplicity. It only requires three ingredients: cucumber, lemon juice, and sugar.

If you can find seedless cucumbers, go for it. Otherwise, simply scoop out the seeds like in the photo above.

Don’t be alarmed by the amount of sugar in this recipe. Sugar content is a key factor in sorbet making. Too little sugar, you’ll end up with an icy sorbet that’s more like a granita. Too much sugar and the sorbet won’t freeze properly.

The role of sugar in sorbet:

In culinary school, we used a refractometer to measure the sugar content in our purees for sorbets. We were also taught the egg test in which you place a clean egg into the fruit puree to see how far the egg sinks into the liquid.

It’s all very technical and scientific as sorbets need a certain amount of sugar to freezer properly. The amount of sugar determines the size of ice crystals that will form- meaning whether your sorbet will be coarse or creamy.

I had so much fun making this cucumber sorbet that I’ve decided to make an entire series of fruit sorbets this summer. Best of all, I’ll be using the sorbets to make boozy floats.

Stay tuned, next week I’ll be sharing cucumber gin and tonic floats! Perfect for pool side lounging or happy hour with friends!

For more sorbet recipes check out: orange sorbet, blueberry sorbet, strawberry blackberry sorbet.

Yield: about 1 quart

Author Maryanne Cabrera

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds cucumbers*, peeled and seeded
3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

Peel cucumbers and remove seeds. Cut into 2 inch pieces and place in a food processor along with lemon juice and sugar. Process until mixture is smooth.
Transfer to an airtight container and let chill in the fridge until cold (1-24 hours).
Freeze mixture in ice cream maker according to your unit's instructions. Process until the mixture has reached a soft serve consistency. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and let rest in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving. Allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before scooping and serving. Garnish with fresh mint when serving.

Recipe Notes

*1 1/2 pounds is the weight after peeling and seeding the cucumbers.
I use this compressor ice cream machine.

All images and text ©The Little Epicurean

Comments

heather (delicious not gorgeous)

i love how refreshing this sounds!! and i’m down for anything and everything that makes me feel zen-like and as if i’m at a spa.

Maryanne Cabrera

Thanks Heather! It’ll definitely make you feel zen-like…especially in this HOT weather :)

Sarah @ Snixy Kitchen

How about we go to the spa AND have an endless supply of this cucumber sorbet?? :)

Michael Shedden

Cups and pounds? Can we have this in grown-up measurements please?

Leslie

If you’re asking for this blogger to do the extra work of converting the measurements into metric because you for some reason can’t be bothered, you might have more success if you don’t imply that everyone in her country is not “grown-up”

Kerry

Could you tell me does this really taste like cucumbers? I have been searching for a way to give my FIL the taste of cucumbers. He doesn’t have teeth anymore and he loves cucumbers. My garden is loaded with them so I am going to experiment with ways to keep cucumber flavor but be soft. Thanks

Yes, it tastes like slightly sweetened cucumbers. I hope your FIL enjoys the recipe!

Drawn & Buttered

Thanks for this recipe! I was knee-deep in cucumbers this year and pulling my hair out about what to do with them — I made several batches of this and was super glad I did. My friends and I discovered that a scoop of this sorbet is fantastic in a high ball of gin. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’…

Jane Marie Greene

Sounds wonderful, but I don’t have an ice cream maker. Will it set up somewhat if I just put it in the processor then freeze it?

If you simply freeze the mixture, it turn out solid. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, I suggest turning this into a granita. I have directions for making granita here: https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/2015/05/strawberry-basil-granita.html

Connie

What if you don’t have an ice cream machine?

This recipe requires use of an ice cream machine to achieve the texture of sorbet. If you don’t have the machine, I suggest making a granita instead like this recipe: https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/2015/05/strawberry-basil-granita.html

Kathy

If you don’t have an actual ice cream maker could you do it the old-fashioned way with a coffee can, ice and salt. I used to make ice cream at school with my students … could you put the sorbet mixture into a plastic baggie then put the baggie inside the coffee can filled with ice and salt and basically we just rolled/threw/tossed our coffee cans until we had ice cream.

Do you think that would work? and if you have kids they could do it.

Thoughts?