Silvercrest Sorbet Maker

 Although I do the majority of cooking in our household, my husband is always keen on looking at small kitchen appliances or gadgets. A couple of months ago we were in Lidl, the German supermarket that’s spread through Europe. There were a variety of appliances on special offer, in their Silvercrest range. Most of them were in garish shades of green or orange, which I really didn’t want in my kitchen…

However, my husband was very taken with a machine which promised to turn frozen fruit into ‘delicious sorbet’. We live in a country with very hot summers, and I used to make ice cream regularly, but my husband is now dairy-free, and although I’ve made a few sorbets or cashew-based ice creams, they are somewhat time-consuming. He loved the idea of being able to take frozen fruit pieces out of the freezer and produce a sorbet within a few minutes. 

PURE FRUIT SORBETS

I glanced at the enclosed booklet - instructions were, thankfully, in English as well as several other languages - and there were some recipes included, most of which were, quite simply, chopped fruit. No added sugar, no egg white… just fruit. Some of the recipes also included grated chocolate or coconut, but the basic idea was to freeze prepared fruit in suitable quantities for two or three people so as to be able to make sorbets whenever wanted. 

We have a local fruit stall which sells ripe fruit in small crates for a euro at a time; we sometimes struggle to use it up. So I could see that this could be quite useful; I was convinced entirely when my husband assured me that he would prepare and freeze the fruit, and would also be the one to operate and clean the sorbet maker. 

It was about twenty-five euros on offer (it was £19.99 in Lidl UK around the same time) so I shrugged, and added one to our basket. The green was slightly less garish than the orange, and I knew I could find space to store it in one of our kitchen cupboards. I wasn’t sure it would make its way out very often…

CONSTRUCTING THE SORBET MAKER

When we arrived home, my husband set to work washing and cutting up a few kilograms of peaches which we had bought inexpensively, and I peeled and froze chunks of some bananas that had started to get a bit soft.

I then read through the instructions for our new machine, most of which were standard safety ones (don’t immerse in water, keep away from children, don’t insert hands inside while operating… I suppose they have to say this kind of thing to protect themselves in case anyone is stupid enough to do this kind of thing). It also gave a useful warning not to put ice in the machine, or it might break it. 

We washed the moving parts and my husband put it together; I don’t know that I would have figured out the diagrams, but he said it was very simple. There’s a kind of funnel at the top with a removable pusher, rather like one in a food processor or juicer. Inside is a slightly vicious looking round piece with sharp metal bits protruding, forming the heart of the machine. 

I was quite pleased to find that there are sucker type feet on the bottom, which ensure that the machine won’t move around in use, and can’t easily be knocked over. 

THE SORBET MAKER IN USE

The instructions say that fruit has to be frozen for at least 24 hours, and then thawed for 10-20 minutes. Happily we had some frozen bananas already in the freezer; I tend to freeze them, peeled, when they start to go soft, and then use them when I want to make banana bread. We had also bought some frozen raspberries that morning, also on offer at Lidl.  Banana and raspberry sorbet sounded like a good idea, so we removed what looked like a suitable quantity from the freezer while we ate our lunch. 

My husband then plugged the machine in and placed a bowl underneath the place where sorbet was supposed to emerge.  He fed the pieces of fruit in the funnel of the machine, pushing them down with the supplied part, and gradually a kind of serrated stream of sorbet came out, landing neatly in the bowl. He turned it round with one hand so it didn’t simply pile up, and was finished in about a minute.

He guessed that there would be some sorbet still caught in the machine, and this was the case - he used a spoon to ease it away from the roller and the edge of the pusher and into the bowl. 

It didn’t look like a very big amount, but we found it was plenty for two of us, and made a refreshing light dessert. It tasted as one would expect frozen bananas and raspberries to taste, with a consistency that was much like a classic sorbet. 

Since then we’ve used it three or four times. I wasn’t too keen on peach and banana sorbet, but we’ve made simple peach sorbet which has worked very well indeed. It’s ideal for a quick fruity snack or dessert, with very little time needed, and it’s as healthy as eating fresh fruit. 

CLEANING THE SORBET MAKER

My husband always puts the removable pieces into soak immediately after dismantling it and removing the bits of sorbet which have not come out. This is a good idea, ensuring that fruit doesn’t dry on the parts, and making them very quick to clean properly in the washing up bowl. Most of the parts can be put in a dishwasher, but they would be a bit awkward and are so easy to clean in the sink that we haven’t bothered.

The main part of the machine, containing the motor, can be wiped with a damp cloth, and that’s all that’s necessary. 

FURTHER THOUGHTS

I’m not convinced that this sorbet maker is any more efficient than simply placing slightly thawed frozen fruit in a liquidiser or even a food processor. However, it works well and I’m happy that my husband is producing healthy food in the kitchen, so I don’t have any regrets about buying it. I doubt if we’ll use it much in the winter, but then again it’s a novelty that visitors will probably appreciate. 

The electricity usage is minimal; the box states that it uses 200 watts, and it only runs for a minute or two to produce sorbet for two people. There’s a three year guarantee with it, so I assume it will last at least that long, probably considerably more so with our limited use.  

As far as I can tell this sorbet maker is only available from Lidl stores around the world, and probably only when on special offer. But items like this tend to appear regularly, so if you like the idea of instant fresh fruit sorbets, I’d recommend looking out for it. 

2022 UPDATE

We put it away after the summer glut of fruit, and have only used it a handful of times in the past seven years. It still works. It does what it promises. But it's a lot of effort for something we rarely remember to use. It's one of those appliances that looks like a great idea, but what it does is very specific and doesn't actually make all that much. Once it's away in a cupboard, it's easily forgotten.

However for someone who grows or buys plenty of fruit, and who likes sorbets that are free of anything other than fruit, this kind of thing is ideal.