One of the things I loved the most in Paris was the dessert sorbets. Pear, in particular, was exquisitely yummy — tart and sweet, smooth on the tongue, freezing cold, perfect to lower body temps on a hot summer day. I set about trying to make the perfect Pear Sorbet, and we’ve finally come up with an easy, yummy recipe. It’s a great light alternative to ice cream, and better for you, too! And you can make this recipe with any fruit and fruit nectar you can find. Peach and mango are delightful.

Ingredients

2 lbs. of pears (4‐6 depending on size and kind — I like to make this with Anjou pears)
1 ½ cups pear nectar, divided (pear juice works too, just increase your pears by 2 to get the right consistency)
¾ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
If you want to get really fancy, a bit of vanilla or lavender will alter the taste ever so slightly

Directions

Quarter, core, peel, and roughly chop the pears.
Put the chopped pears, 1/2 cup of the pear nectar, and the sugar in a medium saucepan.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixtures comes to a boil.
Reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook, still stirring when you think of it, until the pears are tender and the liquid has thickened a bit, about 10 minutes.
Whirl the mixture in a blender until very smooth. (This is harder to do than it sounds — don’t skimp on time. Smoothness makes the end result silky, not grainy.)
Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and let it come to room temperature.
Cover and put in the fridge until chilled, usually a few hours (you can speed up this process by putting the pears in a metal mixing bowl, nesting that bowl inside a large bowl filled with ice water, and stirring the mixture until it’s chilled).
Stir in the remaining 1 cup of pear nectar and the fresh lemon juice.
Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, transfer to a large metal pan or metal mixing bowl and put in the freezer.
Stir the mixture every 30 minutes or so until it’s all frozen.
Once it’s all frozen, whip it with electric beaters to lighten the texture, if you like, and then refreeze it before serving.

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