Papaya Lime Sorbet

I will start off this post by saying that I never knew you could grow so many tropical fruits in Louisiana!  I guess it makes sense since it is so warm for so many months.  But I was surprised, nonetheless, when my neighbor walked over with a big papaya the other day!  As instructed, I waited several days until the fruit was ripe (mostly yellow on the outside) and cut it open.  Peeling a papaya is a messy ordeal, but the fruit was bright orange and looked delicious.  Prior to this adventure, I had never eaten fresh papaya before; usually I eat it in a tropical fruit cup mix.  I tried a few pieces...it is not a very sweet fruit and kind of has a funny smell.  I decided it would be best to use the papaya in a dish instead of eating it on its own.  And as you may have guessed, I chose to make a frozen concoction.  Next time I’ll make a sauce or something, but I figured sorbet would be a good place to start.

Lucky me, I opened up The Perfect Scoop and found a Papaya-Lime Sorbet recipe.  Perfect, since I have a lime tree in my backyard growing big, beautiful limes for me!  This sorbet is very simple and the papaya gives it a very nice texture.  I think the sorbet tasted best coming right out of the ice cream machine. 

Even though I’m lucky enough to have a neighbor that grows papayas, you can usually find papayas in the grocery store (more likely in a specialty store).  The best and brightest orange papayas come from Hawaii, if you can find them.  Enjoy!

Papaya-Lime Sorbet
David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop, Ten Speed Press 2007

2 pounds papayas (about 2 small papaya)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about three limes)
Pinch of salt

Cut the papayas in half and remove the seeds with a spoon.  Peel the papayas and cut them into chunks.  Put the papaya pieces in a blender along with the sugar, water, lime juice, and salt, and puree the mixture until completely smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.