recipe / dessert / at-home
A recipe for yuzu sorbet.
2 min read
Words by Annie Park (head baker), Sara Tehrani
Make it at home. We mean it.
This is exactly the yuzu sorbet we serve. We have published it in full, with no swaps and no "kitchen-only" steps, because the world has too many recipes that are 90% the real thing.
Makes about 600ml. You'll need an ice-cream machine.
Ingredients
- 220g caster sugar
- 240ml water
- 6g (about 1 tsp) liquid glucose (optional — gives a softer scoop)
- 200ml fresh yuzu juice (about 12 yuzu)
- 1 tbsp finely grated yuzu zest
- 1g (a generous pinch) Murray River pink salt
- 1 egg white, optional (gives a slightly fluffier texture; we don't use it at the restaurant)
Method
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Make the syrup. Bring sugar, water, and glucose to a simmer in a small saucepan. Stir until clear. Take off the heat. Cool fully — at least 1 hour.
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Combine. Whisk yuzu juice, zest, and salt into the cool syrup. Strain through a fine sieve. Taste — it should be sharp first, sweet a second later, with a salt note at the back of the tongue.
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Chill. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Overnight is better — the zest's oil distributes more evenly.
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Churn. Pour into your ice-cream machine and churn for 20–30 minutes, until the mixture is the consistency of soft-serve. If you're using the egg white, whip it to a soft peak and fold in during the last 5 minutes of churning.
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Freeze. Transfer to a chilled container with a lid. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
Notes from the kitchen
- Yuzu juice substitutes badly. Don't use a Meyer-lemon/lime mix; it loses the floral top note. If you can't get fresh yuzu, buy frozen yuzu juice from a Japanese grocer — it is better than any substitute.
- Salt is not optional. It is the thing that makes the sorbet taste like ours instead of like everyone else's. Murray River pink has a slow finish. Maldon will work; it's just sharper.
- Serve in a chilled cup straight from the freezer, with a small pinch of salt across the top and a single grated cheek of yuzu zest. Nothing else. No mint, no biscuit, no garnish.
If you make it, write to us. We mean that too — kitchen@ikigailand.com.au.
— Annie & Sara
