yellow fever
Lots of things happen in May around here, things like my annual MRI to monitor for breast cancer or the anniversary of my sister’s passing or the typical May snowstorm in the mountains that all of the mountain folk expect and all of the flatlanders can’t believe. It’s when we swap out our snow tires for the summer tires, admire all of the flowering trees in Boulder, and begin the mushroom hunting season.
flowers for kris, every year
my favorite weeping cherry in bloom, in the rain
the rains bring the oyster mushrooms
and if you’re lucky, they bring the blonde morels
met a little garter snake while foraging
That blonde morel was my first one I’ve foraged and there were whoops and hollers and high fives and hugs with my foraging buddy, Erin (she found her first one within minutes of mine). The list of edible mushroom varieties that I want to find is quite short, but now it’s shorter by one. Blonde morels are also known as American yellow morels (the variety we forage in the mountains is a black morel).
I have yet to see any morels hit our markets, but what I am seeing on sale lately are mangoes – especially the ataulfo or yellow mangoes, which are my favorites. The pit tends to be smaller, the flesh sweet and not as fibrous as its red-/green-skinned cousin. After a day on the flats looking for morels under the hot sun, I welcome a nice cold scoop or two of a smooth and refreshing mango sorbet. It’s fruity, it’s tropical, and it’s easy to make. The tequila is a nice way to keep the sorbet smooth as it prevents the formation of big ice crystals. If you don’t want alcohol in your sorbet, you can substitute corn syrup.
water, sugar, mangoes, limes, tequila, and salt (not pictured)
combine water and sugar to make simple syrup
slice and scoop the flesh of the mangoes
I always start the simple syrup first because it needs time to cool down from being boiled. Then I juice the limes and scoop out the mango flesh. I try to cut as much as I can off of the pit, but what I love about making anything that involves mangoes, is that I get to snack on any mango that remained on the pit. Everything but the tequila gets puréed until smooth. You could use a food processor if you don’t have a blender, but I find mine doesn’t achieve the same smoothness as my blender.
mango flesh, lime juice, simple syrup, tequila, and salt (not pictured)
purée the fruit, lime juice, simple syrup, and salt together
smooth
Refrigerate the purée until it is chilled through. Just like with ice cream, you want your base (be it ice cream or sorbet) to be quite cold when you add it to the ice cream machine for churning. Right before adding the fruit purée to your ice cream machine, stir in the tequila (or corn syrup).
add the tequila
like soft-serve sorbet
I love ice cream as much as the next person, but I don’t love that it upsets my stomach. Sorbet provides a fruity, light, and delicious way to cool down as the heat of the warmer months ramps up. Take advantage of seasonal mangoes and make this mango sorbet!
refreshingly smooth and fruity
Mango Sorbet
[print recipe]
from Simply Recipes
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 1/2 lbs. mangoes (3 or 4), peeled and pitted
3 tbsps lime juice, to taste
pinch of salt
3 tbsps tequila (or corn syrup)
To make the simple syrup, stir the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and let cool completely. Place the simple syrup, mango flesh, lime juice, and salt in a blender and purée until smooth. Chill the purée in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Stir the tequila (or corn syrup) into the purée. Churn the sorbet according to your ice cream manufacturer’s directions. Scoop the soft sorbet into a freezer-friendly vessel and freeze until firm. Makes 1 quart.
more goodness from the use real butter archives
|
thai sticky rice and mango |
|
mango lassi |
|
piña colada sorbet |
|
coconut sorbet |
May 7th, 2018 at 5:47 am
I just tried ataulfo mangoes for the first time last week, and have already restocked. They are incredible. I guess I will have to get MORE so I can try this sorbet. We had a bad experience with mango ice cream made by a classmate when the girl child was in 7th grade, and didn’t eat mangoes for a few years (it tasted like fish smelled…to this day, we wonder what the heck they did!), and I am making up for lost time now. The girl is still hesitant to eat them, but we brought her back from grad school yesterday, and I have told her she has to try the ataulfos!
May 15th, 2018 at 12:10 pm
Kristin – Oh my gosh, that sounds terrible! I’d probably be nervous about mangoes after that, too. I’ve always liked mango, but when I started eating ataulfo mangoes, I lost my mind. They’re so different and lovely. I hope your family enjoys this variety. I promise they don’t smell like fish! :)
May 21st, 2018 at 3:27 pm
@Kristin: Are you sure those fish smelling mangoes were actually mangoes and not egg fruit which looks very similar to a mango but has a very fishy/egg-yolky smell?
May 23rd, 2018 at 5:11 am
Nabeela….as we only tried the finished product, and don’t know how it was made, it is possible they may have used egg fruit instead! Although I have never seen egg fruit in our local stores (or anywhere to be honest!). It certainly seems like a good explanation, because I don’t know how else ice cream ingredients and mangoes could end up tasting like bad fish smell!! Thanks for the hypothesis!
August 15th, 2018 at 12:02 pm
I’m so behind, but hello Mushroom love!! and yes to Mangoes and Mango sorbet!