Near the completion of any great tasting menu, the diner will be served a palate cleanser to prepare for the dessert course. The purpose of this is to create a nice transition from the savory dishes that precede the final course(s). This dish tends to be slightly sweet and have some element of acidity or tang. It's very small, usually a bite or two and more often than not, it is served cold or frozen. You will traditionally find a sorbet placed at this point of the meal.
My sorbet was made with last years rhubarb and strawberry jam. I simply mixed a little water into the jam to thin it out a little bit and froze it in my ice cream machine. Using home-canned fruits, jellies and jams to make sorbet works really well. They have the perfect amount of sugar and the pectin in them results in a very smooth texture.
I used a variety of mint on this dish. Mint is also a very classic palate cleanser for obvious reasons. The types seen here are; mint, lemon mint, peppermint, spearmint and catnip (also known as catmint). There is also some reduced balsamic vinegar for an added tang.
Product:
Organic Strawberries - Culton Organics
Organic Rhubarb - Culton Organics
Organic Mints - Weaver's Way
My sorbet was made with last years rhubarb and strawberry jam. I simply mixed a little water into the jam to thin it out a little bit and froze it in my ice cream machine. Using home-canned fruits, jellies and jams to make sorbet works really well. They have the perfect amount of sugar and the pectin in them results in a very smooth texture.
I used a variety of mint on this dish. Mint is also a very classic palate cleanser for obvious reasons. The types seen here are; mint, lemon mint, peppermint, spearmint and catnip (also known as catmint). There is also some reduced balsamic vinegar for an added tang.
Product:
Organic Strawberries - Culton Organics
Organic Rhubarb - Culton Organics
Organic Mints - Weaver's Way