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Orange Sherbet
Put the pulp and juice of eight good-sized oranges into a bowl, with the juice of two lemons and a cupful of granulated sugar. When the sugar is melted, put in a half a cup of minced pineapple. Let it stand a few minutes before pouring it on a block of ice in a punch bowl. Just before serving, add a quart of Apollinaris.
A punch rather than a frozen dessert — in 1900 "sherbet" still meant a sweetened fruit drink as often as an ice. The whole thing is assembled cold and the sparkling water goes in at the last moment.
- ApollinarisA naturally carbonated mineral water from the Ahr valley in Germany, sold everywhere in America at the turn of the century and about as common on a sideboard as soda water is now. Any dry unflavoured sparkling water or club soda stands in for the quart (4 cups); it is what carries the drink, so add it at the table and stir once.
- Get the sugar dissolved firstA cup of granulated sugar will not "melt" quickly in cold juice. Stir it into the juice until no grit remains on the bottom of the bowl, or make a simple syrup from the sugar and a little water beforehand and cool it — undissolved sugar settles and the last cups come out cloying.
- Pulp and juiceCut the oranges in half, juice them, then scoop the segments free of skin, seeds and the white pith. The pith is what turns citrus punch bitter after standing, and the two lemons matter for balance.
- PineappleProbably fresh minced pineapple, though canned was already available. Canned works and is sweeter; if you use it, drain it and cut the sugar by a couple of tablespoons.
- The block of iceA single large block was used because it chills without diluting — it melts far more slowly than cubes. Freeze water in a loaf pan or a small mixing bowl a day ahead; a bowl of ice cubes will water the punch down within twenty minutes.
- Standing time"A few minutes" is enough for the sugar and juices to marry. Much longer at room temperature and the citrus goes flat and slightly bitter; hold it covered in the refrigerator if you are working ahead.
- YieldRoughly two quarts once the sparkling water is in — a dozen or so punch-cup servings.
The word sherbet comes through Turkish u015ferbet from the Arabic sharba, a drink, and for most of its history in English it named exactly that: chilled sweetened fruit juice, not the frozen dairy product that took over the name in twentieth-century America. The quart of Apollinaris is a period marker of a loose sort: bottled German mineral water was a fashionable American import, advertised heavily and served both on its own and as the fizz in temperance punches, which is what this is. A hostess who wanted something festive for an afternoon reception without wine could set out a punch bowl of this over a block of ice and satisfy everyone in the room.