Step 1

Freeze the ice cream base if needed. At least 24 hours before making the sorbet, place the ice cream base in the freezer to freeze if your ice cream maker requires a frozen base.

Step 2

Prepare the fruit. Wash and dry the fruit. Cut away or remove any rinds, peels, pits, seeds, stems, or other non-edible parts of the fruit. Slice the fruit into bite-sized pieces. You should have around 5 cups of chopped fruit, though a little more or less is fine.

Step 3

Prepare the simple syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring gently once or twice. Simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Step 4

Prepare for blending. Combine the fruit and 1/2 cup of the cooled simple syrup in the a blender, the bowl of a food processor, or in a mixing bowl (if using an immersion blender). Reserve the remaining syrup.

Step 5

Blend until the fruit is completely liquified. Blend the fruit and the syrup until the fruit is completely liquified and no more chunks of fruit remain.

Step 6

Strain the juice. If your fruit contains small seeds (like strawberries or raspberries) or is very fibrous (like mangos or pineapples), strain it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the solids. Gently stir with a spoon as you strain, but don't force the solids through the strainer.

Step 7

Test the sugar levels with the egg-float test. Wash and dry a large egg. Gently lower the egg, still in its shell, into the sorbet base. You're looking for just a small nickel-sized (roughly 1-inch) round of shell to show above the liquid — this indicates that you have the perfect balance of juice and sugar. If you see less shell (dime-sized), stir in a little more sugar syrup; check with an egg and continue adjusting as needed. If you see more shell (quarter-sized), stir in a little water or fruit juice; check with an egg and continue adjusting as needed. (Store leftover simple sugar in the fridge.)

Step 8

Stir in the lemon juice. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Taste the sorbet base and add more lemon juice if it tastes too sweet and bland.

Step 9

Chill the base. Cover the sorbet base and refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Step 10

Churn the sorbet. Pour the chilled base into the ice cream machine and churn. Continue churning until the sorbet is the consistency of a thick smoothie. This typically takes between 10 and 15 minutes in most machines.

Step 11

Freeze the sorbet. Transfer the sorbet to pint containers or other freezable containers and cover. Freeze for at least 4 hours, until the sorbet has hardened. Homemade sorbet will generally keep for about a month in the freezer before starting to become overly icy.

Step 12

Serve the sorbet. Let the sorbet soften for a few minutes on the counter, then scoop into serving bowls.