Gaga

When I talked about Whole Foods the other day I neglected to mention all the free tastings. For example, a nice young man offered me a little cup of a delicious orange sherbet that he explained was made exactly as his grandmother (Gaga) used to prepare it. A Proustian moment later I was transported to the Lemon-Orange Sherbet that my own mother and grandmother used to make. In my recipe files it is attributed to "Clara of North Creek" (revealing its Adirondack origins). One of its virtues was that it could be "still-frozen" in a bread pan in the small top-of-the-fridge compartment referred to as a "freezer" in the forties and fifties. This recipe is a gem, and I'm going to make myself some soon - maybe today. I'd probably scale it down to half and make it in the Donvier, but here it is, exactly as written:

Lemon and Orange Sherbet (Clara of North Creek)

2 oranges and 2 lemons (juice and grated rind)
1 T lemon extract
2 c. sugar
1 quart milk
1 pint cream

Strain juices into sugar. Add lemon extract and mix well before adding milk, cream and rinds. Freeze until solid around edges. Remove and beat til smooth. Refreeze.

Oh, and in my unstoppable blabbermouthy way I told the nice young man that in our family we made it with a combination of orange and lemon. If you notice that Gaga offers this any time soon - well, you will know where the credit lies.