For years I thought sherbet and sorbet were the same thing! I wasn't a big sherbet fan unless it was mixed with Sprite in a punch bowl at church functions.
For all our purposes below are the definitions for sherbet and sorbet:
Sherbert: noun
- a frozen dessert made with fruit juice added to milk or cream, egg white, or gelatin.
Sorbet: noun
- a dessert consisting of frozen fruit juice or flavored water and sugar.
(Via google definitions)
Then I tasted Jeni's sorbets. The first time I had the pleasure of gracing their scoop shop was the 12 South location. I literally had a sample and ran (I illegally parked shhh don't tell). That day I got the Sweet Cream Biscuits and Peach Jam.
But it wasn't until I visited the East Nashville locale did I get the full sorbet experience!! I felt guilty because I tried so many flavors knowing the entire time I was getting sorbets!
Let me back up...I didn't even tell you what flavors I fell in love with: Reisling Poached Pear and Cantaloupe & Sun Tea. I'll break them down one by one for ya!
Reisling Poached Pear
I'm a wine girl all day and all night, I love pears most days. This sorbet was so smooth and creamy but not in an ice cream sorta way. It has it's own flavor profile. The pear was sweet yet not too powerful, it also was tart yet didn't make me smack my lips together. The hint of Reisling also clearly shown through with each bite. It was like a glass of wine with pears in it. Perfection.
It's my number one flavor of the year!!
Cantaloupe & Sun Tea
This is a very close second! Honestly I hadn't planned on getting this one but I went ahead and ventured out on a limb. This ice cream literally tastes like I'm eating cantaloupe chunks and drinking sweet tea on the side. Once again it's creamy, sweet, tangy, flavorful, and great flavor profiles.
Jeni's has a special magic bowl where 2 completely seperate and distinct flavors can meld into one outrageously delicious flavor. You can taste the pear, the Reisling, the sweet tea, and the cantaloupe as individual flavors but all in one scoop! It's pure genius. It may have something to do with them being based out of my home state O-H-I-O!!!
I mean we did produce the most US presidents and the first man on the moon. :)
I challenge all of you to go to your local scoop shops and taste each flavor at least once if for nothing more than general knowledge of excellent ice creams and sorbets!!
Thank you Jeni for bringing a piece of home to my new home...y'all rock!
**all photos courtesy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream**
Stay hungry my friends...
Ray B.
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