Scrumptious Frozen Treats—from Canned Fruits!

Okay, so hear me out. I know it’s fresh fruit season.  And yes, I’m buying fresh figs, peaches, cherries, and other summer fruits for my own family. So why use canned fruits to make frozen treats for the grandchildren?

First, preparation is fuss-free; there’s no peeling or pitting involved. Second, canned fruits are always consistent in quality and they never go bad—no worries about overripe or under-ripe fruits, mealy texture, or spoilage. Third, it’s healthy (see The Benefits of Canned Fruits below).

Here’s how this works:  you keep a can of fruit in your freezer, awaiting a sweltering day when the little ones will come begging for frozen treats.  You take out the frozen can, immerse it in hot water so that the contents are released easily, chop up the frozen fruit in chunks, and puree it in the food processor. Done!

Let’s Talk Taste

I agree readily that canned fruits aren’t the same as fresh when it comes to taste and texture. However, when you freeze fruits, canned or fresh, some of the nuances of flavor are diminished and the texture is disguised.  In this sorbet, you taste sweet, tart—and cold! And the texture? Creamy and icy on your tongue. Quite delicious as a frozen treat! Trust me.

Also, you can doctor up the sorbet if you like by adding a little lemon juice. For adults, try a splash of orange liqueur. 

For another type of “frozen treat,” craft ice cream cones from Styrofoam balls and card stock to play ice cream shop.

I usually make this sorbet with canned peaches in fruit juice, but you could probably use more intensely flavored fruits such as canned pineapple, lychees, mandarin oranges, or mangoes for a more sophisticated flavor.

The Benefits of Canned Fruits

This will probably surprise you, but canned fruits can be equal to or better than fresh nutritionally, if the “fresh” fruits have taken some time to transit from the farm to the supermarket, have sat awhile at the supermarket, and then again in your home.  Canned fruits are processed immediately upon picking. Here’s more information from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics about the nutrition of canned foods.

How I Discovered this Idea

Years ago, when I worked for a large global communications agency, one of our clients was the Canned Food Alliance, a consortium of steelmakers, can makers, food processors and affiliate members. One of the recipes we promoted at the time was this sorbet. It was a huge hit with the media and the recipe was even featured in the food section of The New York Times (subscription required).

So, go ahead. Give it a try. My grandchildren love it, and I prefer giving them frozen treats made with fruit, rather than ice cream, which is higher in sugar and fat.  They get their calcium from a glass of milk served on the side.

Canned Fruit Sorbet

• 1 can (16 ounces) fruit of your choice (see note)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)

Freeze the can of fruit for 12 hours or more until frozen solid.  Remove from the freezer. Immerse the can in hot water about 1 minute, just long enough to loosen the fruit from the sides of the can.

Using a safe-cut can opener (one that doesn’t leave sharp edges), open one end of the can and drain any melted liquid into the bowl of the food processor; open the other end of the can and pushing from one end, slide contents out the other side, onto a cutting board.  With a chef’s knife, chop up the fruit in 2-inch chunks and add to the bowl of the food processor. Add lemon juice, if using. Process until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Makes about 1 pint of sorbet (3 to 4 servings).

Notes

• I used peach slices packed in fruit juice. Fruits packed in heavy syrup would be sweeter and tastier, but will add more calories. Fruits packed in iight syrup, while healthiest, would probably be icier and not as flavorful.
• It’s not a good idea to make the sorbet ahead and freeze it because it will get quite hard and lose its creamy texture. If you want to experiment with freezing ahead, you might try putting the sorbet in popsicle molds.

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