Legitimate sorbets consist only of pureed fruit, a sweetener, and water. However, since there are no food police, we'll take culinary license. But there is life beyond fruit for sorbet. Sorbets can be gussied up with liqueurs and brandies, with fresh mint and lavender, with shaved coconut and chocolate, and with dried fruit and nuts. Sorbets have traditionally been sweet, but you can make a spicy or savory sorbet by adding chopped herbs or ground spices, such as rosemary, thyme, black pepper, or ginger to a lemon or orange sorbet.
Some fruits supply both the flavor and the container for sorbet.
Fill the apple shells, place the cap back on and freeze. When removed from the freezer and allowed to stand for a moment or two, the apples will glisten and look like a beautiful porcelain replica of an apple. Oranges and lemons make good individual containers, and grapefruit and melons make good group containers. Be sure to wash the exterior well before using. Sorbets are traditionally made with sugar, but the exchange of sugar for juice, fruit purees, or juice concentrates does not diminish the quality.