In the United States, Sorbet is a frozen dessert made of sweetened fruit juice; sherbet (sometimes spelled sherbert) includes other ingredients, typically gelatin and milk. Etymologically, both sherbet and sorbet go back to the same Turkish word, sherbet. English first borrowed sherbet, indirectly, for sorbet. Sorbet first appears in English around 1585; it was borrowed from the French, who probably borrowed from the Italian form sorbetto; the Italians appear to have been directly inspired by Turkish sherbet. I note that in France, you will notice packages of frozen desserts made with fruit labeled sorbet, and sorbet laitier ; the latter is "dairy sorbet," or sherbet, in Yank terminology.

Just to make things more interesting, Turkish sherbet is itself a loan word, derived from Persian sharbat, itself derived from Arabic sharba(t), meaning "a drink," and derived from the Arabic verb in the third singular past tense, šarba, "he drank," from the Arabic verb "to drink."

By 1600 (again, according to the OED), the word zerbet was used in English to refer to a drink "made from diluted fruit juice and sugar," borrowed by way of French serbet, from Persian sharbat, from Turkish sherbet. Both the Turkish sherbet and the Persian sharbat referred to a very common and traditional beverage made from sweetened and diluted fruit juice, a drink that was often served with a display of snow meant to cool it down and provide an unvoiced declaration about the hosts wealth. Eventually, sherbet in Europe, sometime around the early twentieth century, referred to a carbonated beverage. But by 1891 (OED) a frozen fruit-based dessert began to be called sherbet. It was distinguished from sorbet in part because it contained ingredients other than fruit and juice, but also, it was a dessert, rather than an item served between courses as a brief refreshment designed to cleanse the palate.

Sorbet is healthy, and easy to make with locally grown fresh or even frozen fruit. You can be quite inventive, and it's about to be time for summer's fresh fruit. You can easily make your own incredible summer sorbet. Be inventive and even experimental; remember you can use mint, or more exotic juices from the frozen fruit section, too. Think about using honey, too; it affects the flavor (and yes, the flavor of different kinds of honey also makes a difference) and the texture. Contemplate making several small batches of different kinds of sorbet in terms of both flavor and presentation. Melon-ball sized servings with a citrus wedge, a flower, fresh fruit, or a sprig of mint are quite attractive and appetizing.

Image Credit: Ben Brophy