Store-Bought Simple Syrup in Sorbet?

Might look for this one, but online resources are so convenient that I may look for similar advice online!
In this case, I know the quantity of sugar affects the firmness and all, but I thought I'd go by taste. And it provided me with exactly the flavour profile I wanted. I might still try the egg trick to see if my palate's in line with the "canonical" version. If it isn't, I might maintain my practice but will know to keep quantities in check when looking at a recipe.

(This syrup I've used isn't overly sweet on its own, thanks to the citric acid, and I was using it with lemon plus ginger. The result is far from cloying.)

Thanks for the reference!

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Alex

Enkerli in Home Cooking

Store-Bought Simple Syrup in Sorbet?

I think this simple syrup is close to 1:1 simple syrup. And I decided to go by taste, at any rate (especially since I was adding so much ginger). But I get your point. In fact, I even thought about using a refractometer to measure the sugar percentage of this syrup. Might still do so, at some point.

Enkerli in Home Cooking

Store-Bought Simple Syrup in Sorbet?

Thanks for these links!
Strangely enough, the FN one doesn't work. And I probably won't buy from WCA since I'm in Canada. But it's still useful.
And the About recipes look particularly interesting. I've recently rediscovered About.com (through their BBQ guide) and I find their resources valuable. In this case, it's more about inspiration than anything else, but that's what I need.

Enkerli in Home Cooking

Store-Bought Simple Syrup in Sorbet?

Hadn't noticed replies were added (thought I'd receive notifications). Thanks a lot for all the useful advice!

And... it did work.
My lemon-ginger sorbet was a bit soft on its way out of the machine, but the flavour profile is exactly what I wanted.
I used almost a liter of this store-bought syrup with more than a half-liter of a ginger-lemon concoction I made (lemon juice and food-processed peeled ginger). All of this blended together. The resulting liquid was more than the 1.5 quart my sorbet-maker can withstand so I reserved a portion to mix with a syrup made from ginger peel infused in a brown sugar and water solution. I also did a simple sugar to which I added a good quantity of lemon zest. These two syrups I pressure-cooked and will use in later batches.

Judging the amount of sugar may be tricky but, in this case, I decided to go by taste. It's not sweet enough according to some who tried it but it's exactly what I wanted. Having this simple syrup on hand (chilled) was quite helpful, as I could adjust directly by adding syrup to the mix.
One thing is for sure, I'll be doing an apple-ginger sorbet soon. The ginger syrup I made just cries out "apple sauce sorbet." Especially the solids (which I didn't keep in the syrup). I might even add some homemade hard cider that I like.

As for consistency, it's not even a problem but I get the impression that the sorbet will get firmer as it spends time in the freezer. It's been there for almost two hours already and I should be able to leave it there for another two hours before I bring it out (actually, traveling with it). The machine's book mentions two hours in the freezer for a firmer consistency and I've seen several mentions of "ripening" so it sounds like it'd make sense to do this.
Also, the lemon-ginger mixture I used wasn't chilled, prior to use. It may have had an impact on the firmness, I guess...

As a first attempt at sorbet-making, it's quite convincing. I've had a few food-related hobbies, in the recent past, and sorbet-making might easily take some space among them, especially if results are this satisfying without effort. I was homebrewing beer until recently (and will probably try beer sorbets, as I've tasted some nice ones made by friends and I have a lot of leftover beer from the time I was still brewing). By comparison to homebrewing, sorbet-making seems to be a (proverbial) "piece of cake."

Dunno if such a long tirade violates any Chow forum rule but I just wanted to share my first experience.

Thanks again for all your help!

--
Alex

Enkerli in Home Cooking

Store-Bought Simple Syrup in Sorbet?

Just got a sorbet maker (Cuisinart ICE-20R) and getting ready to do my first experiments in sorbet making. (I'm lactose intolerant so it probably won't be used much as an ice cream maker, but I'll probably do other non-dairy frozen desserts).
A lemon sorbet seems like a logical thing to do. I'll probably add a significant proportion of ginger, though. Sounds like the process is fairly straightforward.

One thing about which I wonder is about simple syrup. Sure, I know how easy it is to make. But, as it so happens, I bought a whole gallon of "blending syrup" at a local "food wholesaler" which also sells retail. Was quite inexpensive and it sounded like a useful thing to have for experiments, including flavoured syrups.
Here's the list of ingredients: glucose-fructose, water, glucose, citric acid, sodium benzoate, acetylated monoglycerides. Sure, a far cry from a well-crafted simple syrup made with pure organic sugar. But it doesn't sound that bad either. If I understand correctly, we're talking about "sugar, water, sugar, fruit acid, preservative, emulsifier."
But I don't know much about sorbet making and I'm wondering if any of this might have a negative effect on the finished product. As I don't really perceive any health issue from this, I'll probably just try it but in case somebody had insight to share on this, I thought I'd throw it out there.

And, yes, I do plan on using homemade syrup at a later point, including flavoured syrup made with high-quality sugar and filtered water. But as I'm getting started, I'll probably make a number of test batches so using store-bought syrup seems convenient as a shortcut.

Apart from this syrup issue, I'd appreciate any sorbet making advice or insight.

Thanks a lot!

Enkerli in Home Cooking

Cafe Myriade

I sincerely think that Myriade has a triggering effect on Montreal's coffee scene and that coffee will now take its rightful place in the city's culinary scene.

Disclaimer of sorts: I do consider myself a friend of Anthony's (Anth). So I admit that I'm somewhat biased in my evaluation of Myriade's offerings. But the reason I've made friends with Anthony is based on his passion for coffee. I first saw him at a coffee jam at ArtJava (arguably the first Third Wave espresso place in town). Along with other Montreal coffee geeks, I then followed him to Veritas. Caffè in Gamba opened afterwards (first heard about it during an espresso jam that Anthony hosted at Veritas) and the interaction between the two has been excellent. I was ecstatic when I heard that Anth would open is own café. Waited anxiously for it to open. Haven't been disappointed.
I might be overly enthusiastic, but I really think momentum is building and Myriade is the right place for it to build.

I've been to the first two Sunday tasting sessions and both were stimulating experiences. Scott Rao (bigabeano) has exactly the attitude needed for these kinds of things. Open-minded and authoritative, instructor-like and friendly.

What Stephen Morrissey about coffee's place in the current financial climate makes special sense in the Chowhound context. Coffee is about experience, true hedonism.

Myriade is enabling.

Enkerli in Quebec (including Montreal)

Thom's Market on Barton Springs

Haven't been there very frequently but they also have a pretty nice beer selection and their prices are ok.

Enkerli in Austin

[AUS] El Borrego de Oro

Nab, I did almost the same thing you did. Except I was riding the bus, so I couldn't just stop there.

Actually, I'm still a bit unclear as to what the term "borrego" refers to. I've met a Oaxacan who seems to say that "borrego" is closer to goat (Capra) than to domestic sheep (Ovis aries). Some search results for the term have more to do with feral sheep of the "canadensis" species while comments here seem to suggest that it's just lamb and/or mutton. But then, is "borrego" simply lamb ("cordero"/«agneau») or mutton?
Does anyone have a good source to make all of this very clear? Especially in terms of food?
I don't know any Spanish so it's hard for me to investigate.
Could it be that the term is applied in different ways by different people? Since goat and sheep are relatively close, it wouldn't be that surprising if some people would lump the two together.

Enkerli in Austin

2006 Canadian Culinary Championships don't mean a thing

People have been saying that Victoria has the best food scene in Canada. Surprising Vancouver got better-rated than Victoria.
And, of course, it's funny that they should have both Edmonton and Calgary, both Ottawa and Toronto, but neither Quebec City nor Montreal.

Enkerli in Food Media & News

Suggestions for B/L/D in Montreal and QC

Bagel's etc. has a nice ambiance but a friend of mine who's a regular at Bagel's etc. does admit that the food is even better at Beauty's, nearby. Beauty's is more of a long-standing institution than Schwartz's, since the original owner still works there.
For a different take on breakfast, I find it's hard to beat Byblos, on Laurier. Iranian omelettes, bread, jams, turkey porridge...
For brunch, one of my favourite places so far within walking distance of a metro station is Coo Rouge on Amherst.

Enkerli in Quebec (including Montreal)

The Finalists

Interesting list. Haven't been to most of them.
If you like Belgian beers, you should definitely give Dieu du ciel a try. It's a brewpub on Laurier corner Clark and has some really good Belgian beers, including one of the top-rated beers in the world. Montreal in fact has a very good brewpub scene including Benelux on Sherbrooke (which also has some Belgian beers), and Le Cheval Blanc (with some Belgian-style beers as well).
Check BeerAdvocate for details.
http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/20

Enkerli in Quebec (including Montreal)