Creamy Mango Sorbet without Ice Cream Maker

Sorbet is basically sweetened , frozen fruit puree.  Its a perfect way to have your overriped fruit and replace ice cream . The word "sorbet" is derived from the Arabic word "Sharbat" (fragrant mashed fruit drink).^[1] However, the root is present in such Indo-European languages as Greek and Persian for example (shoutout to Wikipedia). The most famous and generalized form , which is the American Sorbet is a fruity frozen dessert which is not diary  based. Now , there is a certain science to sorbet which I will get into detail later on, in the following points :

1. Choice of fruit . Your sorbet is as good as the quality of your fruit. Get the best one you can buy. Also consider the type of fruit. For example, I am using mangoes and mangoes , in a sorbet, is one of the easiest to deal with. Stone fruits like mangoes, peaches , etc are easiest to work with because they have a higher content of pectin which is basically responsible for the thicker , creamy texture. Raspberries and strawberries are very common flavors , and although they are less in pectin content, they have a lot of body which is again responsible for a creamier texture.The most difficult for me is lime sorbet (that may also be because I am a shitty cook). Freezing lime juice and sugar syrup into something creamy is difficult and it will be grainy, but thats how it is supposed to be since it acts as an excellent palette cleanser in a multi course meal.Whatever be your choice, try and get the best quality and if you are a beginner, I recommend using the more full bodied fruits. Its summer ! there is an abundance . Strawberries, mangoes, peaches , plums (I have even used dragon fruit and it came out well)
2. Stage of fruit cycle. Use over riped fruits. Remember the sweeter your fruit is , the lesser the sugar to be added( I will get to sugar science in the next point). Also , a fruit that is under riped is basically firmer in texture which means if you are looking for softness and silkiness in your sorbet, its probably not a good idea to choose an under riped fruit. You can cook the fruit to soften it but to me its a sorbet crime because fruit is best when its fresh (thats the whole point of a sorbet) and cooking , no matter how delicate will take away some of the freshness. In some cases however, cooking may be the better option like quince sorbet, but this is rare.
3. Sugar Content (the most important). The sugar will make your sorbet a sorbet or a slush. the freezing and final texture is all dependent on the sugar content. Too much and you have ice , too little and you have slush (you can eat it either ways , but it won't be a sorbet). The general rule is : 4 cups fruit puree to 1 cup sugar . Don't believe me , its what pastry chefs use. The ideal sugar content is 23-25% to get the ideal texture. This is not exactly a rule I follow to the T because I don't have an ice cream machine(and this ratio is mostly for ice cream machines) and my method does not actually require this particular ratio to work (You'll see) but I do try to keep the sugar content to around 20% of fruit. I personally prefer less sugar because I still want the natural tartness of the fruit to come through . My husband on the other hand prefers a sweeter note to his sorbets. This 4:1 ratio is also called the master ratio by pastry chefs.
4. Alcohol. If you want your sorbet to stay scoopable , add some alchohol , it reduces the freezing point keeping your sorbet soft. This is purely optional and my method will give you creamy with or without alcohol . This is also a good excuse to day drink.
5. No icecream maker. The very technique an ice cream maker uses is to incorporate air while freezing . This prevents formations of sharp ice crystals which is a risk with freezing sugar molecules. However, it is possible to mimic if not replicate this effect. You will need to pay a little more attention though, still less expensive than buying an ice cream machine.
6. Eat it in time. Its fresh fruit, it wont last forever so enjoy it in its time. Adding alcohol will help a little but I still recommend finishing a batch (that is 4 cups of fruit puree) in a week at most.

Recipe : Mango Sorbet

Prep Time : 6 hours 

Serves : 4

Course : Dessert, Summer Treat.

Ingredients :

1. 2 cups fresh Mangoes 
2. 4 medium sized mangoes which should give you 2cups of puree.
3. 1 and 1/2 tsp of fresh lime juice (I am using a variety of mango that is naturally on the tart side , so adjust the lime juice accordingly)
4. Pinch of salt and by pinch I mean 1/4 tsp
5. 1/2 cup of sugar
6. 1/4 cup water
7. 1 tsp brandy( rum will also work well)

Procedure : 

1. Cut your mangoes into cubes and freeze . I did mine over night but if you wack your chiller to max, it should freeze in about 4 hours.
2. Prepare a sugar syrup but heating water and sugar. You don't need to boil this. Chill in the fridge.
3. Puree the mango in a blender until very smooth. Remember some varieties of  mangoes have fibrous strands. If your puree is fibrous , strain through a sieve to get rid of them.
4. Add the sugar syrup, salt and lime juice and blend.
5. Add the alcohol.
6. Transfer to a shallow dish, Cover with cling and place it in the freezer at max power, meaning he chiller is at its maximum freezing power and lowest temperature.
7. At intervals of around 45 mins , take it out , fork it around and place it back. This is to break any large ice crystals . Do this 3-4 times . Then place in an airtight container and freeze overnight or 6 hours.
8. At this point your sorbet will be  granita like in texture(the 1st picture below) which is fine to serve, however, of you want a real next level sorbet orgasm, blend it one last time. This is basically blend the ice crystals into puree making it soft serve ice cream like.