Lemon and Orange Sorbet

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Sorbet-sherbet means a sip, a tasting, or a slow, lingering savour. It is a mixture of chilled fruits with syrup, to which wine, liqueur, or champagne may be added.

Sorbet was invented in China as far back as the 2nd century BCE. To chill fruit desserts, they were placed in large vats of salted water; later, honey and goat's milk began to be added.

Several centuries before our era, Arab peoples also fell in love with sherbet — small cubes of fruit ice. In 300 BCE, at the court of Alexander the Great, there was already ice made from mixed fruits with honey and wine. Snow was used for cooling. In the Roman Empire, a chilled dessert of fruits, honey, and wine was also made — though only the wealthy could enjoy it.

It was Marco Polo who brought sorbet to Europe — specifically to Italy — in the 13th century, carrying the idea back from China, while Catherine de' Medici, wife of King Henry II, introduced it to France. The Florentine confectioner Procopio dei Coltelli opened the café Procope à Paris in 1660 and developed 80 varieties of ice cream, which were so delicious and sold so well that in 1676 a cooperative officially received permission to manufacture ice cream.

In 1945, France built the first ice-making machine.

Sorbet is very easy to prepare — well within anyone's reach.

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