Concord grape sorbet

Concord grape sorbet is a light and refreshing alternative to classic dessert. Fruity, fragrant and thirst-quenching, Concord grape sorbet is a showstopper to have on the table with its strikingly vibrant colour and distinctive flavour! It may be one of the lesser-known sorbet flavours, but honestly, if you’ve never tried it, you’ve no idea what you’re missing out on! Try it for yourself – even people who aren’t particularly fond of grapes love it! Serve it at the end of an autumn-themed meal as a dessert, the temperatures are certainly still warm enough!

I’ve always loved Concord grapes, the scent is heavenly. They aren’t that great to eat straight off the stems, though, due to their bitter seeds and thick, sour skin. Fortunately, there are ways to capture their wonderful flavour, combining the sweetness of the flesh with the tartness of the skins, creating a delightful balance. Concord grape juice, jam or jelly, wine, and sorbet all bring out the very best in these grapes!

You’ll find this Concord grape sorbet recipe quick and easy to make – with or without an ice cream maker. Read on if you’re curious to know more, or skip to the recipe if you like, but remember to check the recommendations in the how-to-make section before you start for the best results!

About concord grapes

Concord grapes are also known as fox grapes, American grapes (because they originate from the town of Concord in Massachusettes, USA), uva fragola or uva americano in Italy, and Vitis Labrusca (their scientific name). They have a sweet, intoxicating aroma that distinguishes them from other grape varieties. Concord grapes are almost perfectly round with a deep purple, almost blue skin, and a characteristic white bloom. Their aroma is unique, similar to that of ripe strawberries – hence the name uva fragola, which means “strawberry grape”. The skin is thick and sour and full of antioxidants. Concord grapes have a so-called “slip” skin because when squeezed, the skin slips easily off the juicy flesh of the grape.

Concord grapes stand out from the rest not just for their aroma and taste but also for the memories they evoke. Carefree autumn days of winemaking, drinking fresh grape juice, and memories of our mothers preserving the flavour of those delicious fruity grapes in jars for the winter months.

From September through to the end of October, you’ll find Concord grapes in greengrocer’s and at farmer’s markets and supermarkets.

What else can you make with concord grapes?

Grape juice, grape jam and grape sorbet all taste better if made with Concord grapes! And wine… have you ever tasted the wine? Wine made with Concord grapes is divine! It’s not a Brunello di Montalcino or Cabernet Sauvignon, but it’s genuine and captures the essence of the juice – straightforward and appealing in its sweet and grapey profile. 

In Italy, it’s not easy to find Concord grape wine because it’s illegal to sell it in the country (and the whole of Europe, I believe), due to complicated legislation. People can, however, cultivate the grapes and make wine for their own personal consumption. Most Italians only get to drink it if someone in the family makes it (and if they feel like sharing!) It’s best not to drink too much of it, though, because the winemaking process results in a particularly high percentage of methanol and tannins. Don’t worry, this won’t affect your sorbet – on the contrary, there are multiple health benefits to be had from eating the grapes and drinking the juice!

About this recipe

For this grape sorbet recipe, you’ll need just three ingredients: fresh Concord grapes, vegan sugar, and a little lemon juice. This is a raw recipe, which better preserves the nutrients, so you won’t even have to use heat to melt the sugar.

Below you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to make it, even without an ice cream maker.

This concord grape sorbet is perfect after dinner as a light and refreshing dessert. It’s versatile too. You can serve it in scoops in ice cream glasses, like in the photo above, or semi frozen, in a flute glass, like a sorbetto. Italians often serve sorbetto between courses, as a palate cleanser, or at the end of a meal, often with an alcoholic twist like grappa or vodka.

One of my favourite kitchen gadgets is my ice cream maker. My son and daughter gave it to me as a Christmas present one year. They’re happy to be my tasters and have hoovered up all my experiments! Ice creams and sorbets are super quick and easy to make now I’ve got the hang of it! There’s always some kind of homemade ice cream in the freezer, and everyone has their favourite flavours!

Personally, I prefer fruit flavours – especially Italian sorbetto. And they’re so much easier to make than ice cream because they’re naturally vegan. Some sorbet recipes do contain egg whites, although I don’t understand why because egg whites do nothing to enhance the flavour or texture of a sorbet. On the contrary, it seems to detract from the flavour of the fresh fruit. You only need three ingredients to make a great sorbet of any kind. Try this recipe for yourself, and let me know what you think!

How to make Concord grape sorbet

Important tips

• This is a raw recipe, so there’s no heat involved. The grapes are blended quickly – whole with their skins on. This preserves the nutrients. You need to blend them just long enough to be able to filter out the juice along with some of the pulp. Too long, and you’ll grind the seeds down to the point where they’ll all pass through the sieve. Five seconds is long enough in my Nutribullet. You’ll need a sieve with a coarse mesh to filter out the seeds and larger pieces of skin. It doesn’t matter if a few bits of seed pass through, but you will want to get most of them out.
• Make sure that your sugar is finely ground (see notes above). The amount of sugar in this sorbet, and in other sorbets on my blog, is something that I’ve studied and experimented on to bring you the best results in terms of flavour and consistency. I adust the fruit/sugar ratios according to the type of fruit. Of course, you can reduce the sugar content if you want – but bear in mind that if you do, the sorbet will set much harder and will be more difficult to scoop out once frozen. It will also affect the flavour. I recommend that you stick to the ratio of 5 parts fruit to 1 part sugar indicated below unless you have special dietary requirements.

Ingredients

You’ll find the exact quantities of each ingredient in the recipe card at the end of this blog post.

concord grapes

If you want a great-tasting fruit sorbet, your fruit has to be top quality. Choose grapes that are fresh, plump and firmly attached to the stems. Concord grapes should have a distinctive fragrance similar to that of strawberries.

Sugar

Not all types of sugar are vegan, unfortunately. Bone char is used in the processing of many types of white sugar. To be on the safe side, look for brands that are labelled vegan. For sorbets, I use Aarberg finely ground white sugar, which I buy at the Migros here in Switzerland. Otherwise, raw, organic cane sugar is a pretty safe bet and is probably one of the “healthiest” sweeteners out there. Because this recipe is raw, you’ll need finely ground sugar. You can grind grains of sugar to a powder in seconds in a blender.

Lemon juice

Lemon juice balances out the sweetness of the sugar. Always use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not the bottled variety.

Method 1 – How to make Concord grape sorbet using an ice cream maker

• Wash the grapes and remove them from the stems.
• Put the grapes, sugar and lemon juice into a blender for about 5 seconds. Pour the mixture through a sieve to eliminate the seeds. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to speed up the process. Compost the seeds.
• Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for making sorbet. In my machine, a HKoenig hf320, I just set it to the ice-cream-making function and leave it to churn for 30 minutes.
• Once the sorbet is frozen, get it out of the basket with a plastic spoon or spatula and put it into a container suitable for freezing. I recommend you place it in the freezer for at least an hour before serving. See below for suggestions on how to serve your Concord grape sorbet.

Method 2 – How to make Concord grape sorbet without an ice cream maker

• If you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t be discouraged – you’ll still get good results without. Just follow the instructions below.
• Follow the first two steps above and then pour the sorbet mixture into a container suitable for freezing. It should be large enough for you to be able to comfortably stir the mixture with a small hand whisk or spoon. Put the lid on and place in the freezer for 90 minutes.
• Remove the container from the freezer and stir the mixture, scraping the sides down as well.
• Return the container to the freezer for 45 minutes.
• Remove from the freezer and stir/whip the mixture again, scraping the sides of the container well. If you use a whisk, you’ll need a sturdy one as it begins to freeze. Return the mixture to the freezer as quickly as possible.
• Repeat at 30-minute intervals. Make sure you scrape the edges well each time and break up any frozen chunks.
• After 2 – 3 hours, it should begin thickening to a soft-serve consistency. At this stage, you can decide whether to serve it or freeze it for longer and scoop it out when it’s firm (see next paragraph).

How to serve Concord grape sorbet

You can serve your Concord grape sorbet as soon as it comes out of the basket. It will be quite soft, though, and it will melt very quickly. I usually put mine in the freezer for an hour or so before serving. That way, it’ll still be soft enough to spoon into a flute glass and enjoy like an Italian sorbetto.

Alternatively, you can freeze it for longer and then scoop it out and serve it in an ice cream dish, either on its own or laced with Prosecco, grappa, or vodka.

How to store your Concord grape sorbet

You can store your Concord sorbet in the freezer, where it will keep for a couple of months. Bear in mind, though, that the longer it stays in the freezer the firmer it will become. The fruit-to-sugar ratio is such that you’ll be able to scoop it out of the container as soon as you get it out of the freezer. If you allow it to thaw a bit at room temperature before eating it, the flavour will be more intense. Extended freezing may cause some ice particles to form, as they do in all foodstuffs if kept in the freezer for a long time. I honestly doubt that this grape sorbet will be in your freezer for more than a couple of days – it’s gone in a flash at our house!

I think you’ll love this unusual, seasonal grape sorbet! If you do, let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!

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While you’re here on Vegan Hot Stuff, maybe you’d like to take a look at some other popular autumn recipes…

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