Sorbet ( /sɔrˈbeɪ/) is a frozen dessert made from sweetened water flavored with fruit (typically juice or puree), wine, and/or liqueur. The origin of sorbet is variously explained as either a Roman invention, or a Middle Eastern drink charbet, made of sweetened fruit juice and water. The name comes from the Latin verb "sorbere" and the modern Italian verb sorbire, meaning to eat and drink at the same time. The noun form, sorbetto, is a mixture of a solid and liquid food. Probably the Arabs take the word from Byzantine or from Sassanid Empire when they arrived from the desert of the Arabic peninsula. The term sherbet or charbet is derived from the Turkish şerbet, "sorbet", from the Persian sharbat, which in turn comes from the Arabic شربات sharbāt meaning "drink(s)" or "juice."[1] Sorbet is sometimes served between courses as a way to cleanse the palate before the main course.
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Sorbet is often confused with Italian ice and often taken to be the same as sherbet.
Sorbets/sherbets may also contain alcohol, which lowers the freezing temperature, resulting in softer texture. In the UK and Australia, sherbet refers to a fizzy powder, and only the term sorbet would be used.
Whereas ice cream is based on dairy products with air copiously whipped in, sorbet has neither, which makes for a dense and extremely flavourful product. Sorbet is served as a non-fat or low-fat alternative to ice cream.
In Italy, a similar though crunchier textured dish called granita is made. As the liquid in granita freezes it forms noticeably large-size crystals, which are left unstirred. Granita is also often sharded with a fork to give an even crunchier texture when served.
Agraz is a type of sorbet, usually associated with the Maghreb and north Africa. It is made from almonds, verjuice, and sugar. It has a strongly acidic flavour, because of the verjuice. (Larousse Gastronomique)
One account says that Marco Polo brought a recipe for a sorbet-like dessert on his way back to Italy from China in the late 13th century, as written in an account of his journey, The Travels of Marco Polo.
Other folklore holds that Nero, the Roman Emperor, invented sorbet during the first century AD when he had runners along the Appian way pass buckets of snow hand over hand from the mountains to his banquet hall where it was then mixed with honey and wine.
Frozen desserts are believed to have been brought to France in 1533 by Catherine de' Medici when she left Italy to marry the Duke of Orleans, who later became Henry II of France. By the end of the 17th century, sorbet was served in the streets of Paris, and spread to England and the rest of Europe.
In the United States, sorbet and sherbet (where it is widely pronounced /ˈʃɜrbərt/[2][3] and sometimes spelled sherbert) are different products. For Americans, sherbet is the more widely known term and typically designates a fruity flavored frozen dairy product with a milkfat content between 1 and 2%. Sorbet, on the other hand, is considered by Americans to be a fruity frozen product with no dairy content, similar to Italian ice.
Sherbet in the United States must include dairy ingredients such as milk or cream to reach a milkfat content between 1% and 2%. Products with higher milkfat content of 10% or higher are defined as ice cream, while those between 2% and 10% milkfat are termed "frozen dairy dessert"; products with lower milkfat content and not using any milk or cream ingredients, and no egg ingredients other than the egg white, are defined as water ice.[4] The use of the term "sorbet" is unregulated and is most commonly used with non-dairy, fruit juice "italian ice" products.[5] Although some people may interchange the terms "sorbet" and "sherbet", usual usage by Americans and the manufacturers of these products bears a clear distinction. A similar situation occurs in the legal definitions by differing international state governments on what is considered beer.
On sherbet packages which have both English and French labels, sherbet is translated to sorbet laitier which directly translates into English as dairy sorbet, differentiating the milk-containing sherbet from milk-less sorbet.
In Central Asia, sherbet is not an ice-cream, but has a solid state.[6]