Orange Sherbet

Parchment paper. Ramekins. Candy thermometers. These are tools for when it’s less than 100 degrees F outside.

But when you make that first trip to the mailbox that leaves you sweating like a whore in church, it’s time to downshift into Summer Mode and survive on foods that require as little effort as possible. Leftover peach cobbler for breakfast. Tomato sandwiches. Big salads. Vegetable plates. Pimento cheese. BLTs. And a batch of Mama’s Trashy-Good Orange Crush Sherbet.

My mom has been making this sherbet since the beginning of time. When Adam and Eve were booted from the Garden of Eden, my mom handed them each a cone of orange sherbet and told them to stay out of the tall grass or they’d get chiggers. I can’t imagine a summer without a bowl. Sure, you could make an orange sherbet with actual fruit juices, but something about the trashy triumvirate of Orange Crush soda, sweetened condensed milk and canned crushed pineapple makes me giddy. Stir them together, pour them directly into your ice cream maker, and you get an orange sherbet that tastes like a Creamsicle on crack.

So sweet. So cold. So, so wrong.

Mama’s Trashy-Good Orange Crush Sherbet

From Rebecca Crump (EzraPoundCake.com)

This recipe is sized for a 1-1/2-quart ice cream maker. If you have a larger machine, double the ingredients. Feel free to substitute other fruit-flavored sodas and/or canned or fresh fruit.

Makes 8 servings

  • 3 12-ounce cans (or half of a 2-liter bottle) of Orange Crush
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 small can crushed pineapple
  1. Combine Orange Crush, sweetened condensed milk and pineapple in a bowl.
  2. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker’s freezer container.
  3. Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.