Even those who avoid dairy tend not to melt for sorbet. The frozen dessert made from fruit, sugar and water often feels like an afterthought at the ice cream shops that offer it, which is likely in part why most customers give it the cold shoulder.
But a recent tour of local options taught me sorbet can be gourmet, while offering a lighter, brighter, more salubrious indulgence than its creamier, more popular cousin.
I started at Walnut Beach Creamery in Milford (map), where I snubbed dozens of rich ice creams with names like Beach Baby, Italian Stallion and Muddy Cheesecake for a limited-time sorbet that sounded perfect on a summer evening: Cantaloupe & Cucumber. It wasn’t the color of a cantaloupe, but it sure tasted like one, with the cucumber a lovely complication that nevertheless blended seamlessly. Creamier overall than I expected, it was light, refreshing, balanced, adult and all the better while sitting on the small nearby beach watching easy waves slide in.
The following evening in New Haven, I headed to Ashley’s (map), whose school-year college crowds have been replaced by high schoolers enrolled in summer programs. Out of three sorbet options that day, I combined a scoop of the tart and sugary Raspberry, flecked with seeds and pearls of berry flesh and punched up by citrus, with a scoop of the Mango, whose equal sweetness was buffered by a mellower profile studded with diced mango. Even creamier than the Walnut Beach (and totally delicious when combined), both scoops were also much sweeter, to the point that while I could’ve eaten the cantaloupe-cucumber all day, Ashley’s sorbets made me wonder whether I might need some recovery time.
As it happened, I had exactly as long as it took to mosey over to Vía Láctea (map), a plant-based creamery where even the gelato-like main flavors, let alone a trio of seasonal sorbets, possess no dairy at all. I went, of course, with the ’bets: Watermelon Thai Basil, Roasted Peach Vanilla and Lemon Lime Lavender, all of which sounded great. But only that last one actually was great. Each bite offered a blast of citrus followed by a wave of florality and a final citric surge—bold, exciting, yummy.
My last stop was MilkCraft (map), whose one option, straightforward Strawberry, felt at first like an underdog among underdogs. Made with organic sugar and fresh berries, it was summer-sweet but not cloying, with seeds and chunks of fruit for texture and maybe a touch of lemon juice explaining a very light tang.
It was a beautifully simple ending to an evening that makes a point. How many of us could eat almost all of six ice cream scoops in a mere two hours? I couldn’t. Too rich, too heavy, too intestinally irksome. But six scoops of sorbet? I could, and I did, and I could’ve kept going, apparently with no bloat. I didn’t even feel wired on sugar, as I’d worried I might. Instead I felt fresh, light and darn well hydrated, even while scratching that indulgence itch.
After many years ignoring them, next time I pull up to an ice cream shop for a cold summer treat, you can bet I’ll be taking a good look at the ’bets.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Image 1 features the Mango and Raspberry from Ashley’s. Image 2 features the Cantaloupe & Cucumber from Walnut Beach Creamery. Image 3 features, clockwise from front, the Lemon Lime Lavender, Watermelon Thai Basil and Roasted Peach Vanilla at Vía Láctea. Image 4 features the Strawberry at Milkcraft.
