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Sorbete de curuba
Sorbete de curuba: tangy banana passionfruit blended with cold milk into a pale pink Bogotá shake
In Colombia a sorbete is not an ice but a fruit milkshake, and around Bogotá and the cold highlands of Boyacá and Cundinamarca the classic is made with curuba, the long, soft-skinned banana passionfruit that grows on vines at 2,500 metres. Bakeries and corrientazo lunch spots serve it with almuerzo or with a slice of cake at onces, the late-afternoon snack. It is pale salmon-pink, creamy and sweet-tart, more delicate than passionfruit, with a fragrance like guava and lemon. The common mistake is blending the pulp with its black seeds on high speed: the seeds break up and the sorbete turns bitter and grey-flecked. Pulse just enough to loosen the pulp from the seeds, strain, and only then blend with milk. Serve it at once, because the acid in curuba thickens the milk the longer it stands. It is ready when it is smooth, frothy and pink with no gritty specks. Outside Colombia look for frozen curuba pulp in Latin shops; passionfruit pulp works too, but use about two thirds of the amount as it is stronger. Chef's tip: dissolve the sugar in the strained juice before the milk goes in, so you can blend for less time.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sorbete
- 5 ripe curuba (banana passionfruit)yellow and slightly wrinkled; or 300 g frozen curuba pulp
- ½ cup water
- 4 tbsp white sugarto taste
- 2 ½ cups cold whole milk
- 6 ice cubes
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Cut each 5 ripe curuba (banana passionfruit) in half lengthwise and scoop the orange pulp and seeds into a blender jar with ½ cup water.
3 minStep 2: Pulse 4–5 times, just until the pulp comes away from the seeds; stop before the seeds break up.
1 minStep 3: Pour through a sieve into a bowl, pressing with a spoon until only dry seeds remain. Stir 4 tbsp white sugar into the juice until dissolved.
3 minStep 4: Rinse the blender, add the juice, 2 ½ cups cold whole milk and 6 ice cubes, and blend for 20–30 seconds until frothy and evenly pale pink.
1 minStep 5: Taste for sweetness and serve straight away in tall glasses, before it has time to thicken.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 160 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 24 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sorbete de curuba take?
- About 10 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cold whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
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