Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Sherbet

My friend Suzanne hooked me up with some Meyer lemons, so I tried making a Sherbet with some buttermilk left over from my Meyer lemon bundt cake.  I started with a David Leibovitz recipe, but as usual I think he sacrifices some things in the name of simplicity.  His recipe came out bland and hard as a rock.  I melted it down and added corn syrup and some ice cream stabilizer to help fix the iciness, and more lemon juice to boost the flavor.  To be fair, he used regular lemons, not Meyers, so maybe he didn't need as much juice.

Mine still comes out crumbly.  I think it needs more solids, meaning either I could play with the types of sugar (pro sorbet recipes often use a powder made from dried sugar syrup known as atomized glucose) or add some powdered milk.  Powdered milk might wash out the tangy flavor though, which is really nice right now.

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Sherbet Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup juice and zest from 2-3 Meyer lemons
• 86g sugar
• 86g corn syrup
• 1 tsp ice cream stabilizer (or you could use low-sugar pectin or gelatin, etc.)

Instructions

1. Heat buttermilk and corn syrup together to 104 F.
2. Add stabilizer mixed with sugar, whisking vigorously.  Heat to 185 F.
3. Remove from heat, transfer to ziploc bag, chill in ice bath until cool.
4. Rest overnight in fridge.
5. Add to ice cream maker and pour in lemon juice and zest after.
6. Do not over-churn.  This is more like a sorbet than an ice cream, so it should be stopped on the early side, well before it gets fluffy.