Fruit Smoothy Recipes for the Summer from Latvian Bloggers

Did you know that sorbet is one of the oldest frozen desserts in the world, created in First Century B.C. by Roman and Persian inventors? The dessert’s recipe and name have remained unchanged through centuries; it is one of the most popular types of ice cream these days. Today, ice cream smoothies are available in shops, beach cafes, or top-class restaurants. But if you have some free time, Latvian bloggers recommend that you prepare it yourself at home.

For those who like to have a light and juicy dessert, to cool off on a hot summer day, Latvia’s leading dairy company Food Union has released a new sorbet, “Nu Smoothie” with apricots. This diet foodstuff has 0% fat, while its calorie content is just 77 kcal. “Nu Smoothie” is by ¾ an apricot. The new product is an addition to the current line of smoothies – “Nu Smoothie” is now available in three flavours: apricot, mango, and raspberry. All “Nu Smoothie” sorbets are 100% natural, without food colouring and artificial flavours.

If you don’t want to feel lost at an ice cream stand, and buy exactly what you want the most, it is important you know how a smoothie is different from a fruit ice cream or ice pop.

• A modern-day smoothie ice cream (sorbet) has countless flavour variations, but its essence is a mixture of fruit and berries with no milk, cream or fat. A fruit smoothie can therefore be considered a diet dessert as it contains few calories.
• On the other hand, a fruit ice cream is made of milk and cream, with whole berries and large bits of fruit, and icing made of natural fruit juice.
• Finally, an ice pop is made by freezing fruit juice.

Recipes of fruit smoothies for the summer from Latvian bloggers

We are in for a hot weekend – meteorologists are predicting that temperatures up to +27 degrees Celsius across Latvia. We have asked five Latvian bloggers to tell their recipes of fruit smoothie ice cream that can be made at home. Those who are short on time can buy “Nu Smoothie” ice cream with apricot, mango, or raspberries, to have a juicy diet dessert for the hottest days of the year.

Raspberry-banana smoothie/sorbet – Krista Strazdiņa’s recipe, blog kikasvirtuve.lv

“The recipe of my favourite smoothie/sorbet consists of just four components, and it takes just five minutes to make with the help of a food processor or blender. But I also must say I am very happy with the new apricot “Nu Smoothie”, as these sorbets I like the best, especially the mango variety!” says Krista Strazdiņa who runs the kikasvirtuve.lv blog.

Ingredients: 250 g of frozen raspberries, 2 medium-sized bananas, 80 g of freshly squeezed orange juice, 40 g of clear sugar syrup.

Preparation: Put all ingredients into the food processor and blend them until you have a uniform mass. Serve it right away as a drinkable smoothie, or freeze it to make sorbet. Once the mass has frozen, put it in cups with a disher, decorate with raspberries, and your sorbet is ready to be served.

Blackcurrant sorbet – Inese Rozentāle’s recipe, blog maltite.lv

Ingredients: 600 g of blackcurrants with no stalks and, of course, no leaves, 140 g of sugar (or less), 1 orange, 2 tablespoons of water – and some 30 minutes.

Preparation: Clean blackcurrants and pour them in a kettle. Add grated orange peel – but not from a whole orange, and squeeze some orange juice. Add several spoons water and sugar. Warm it up until the first bubble pops. Then blend the mass, let it cool off in the fridge, beat it with a mixer. For the tasty mass to become sorbet, pour it into a shallow bowl and put it in the freezer, mix it once every 30 min for a smooth mass. Best to leave it in the freezer for the night.

“I serve the sorbet with orange peels, but if you wish it to be smoother, you may pass it through a fine sieve,” advises blog maltite.lv author Inese Rozentāle.

Strawberry and lime sorbet – recipe of Linda Tellgrena, blog lindasvirtuve.lv
Ingredients: 600 grams of washed strawberries with no receptacles, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 90 ml of water, 60 grams of honey or 80 grams of sugar.

Preparation: Put all ingredients in a blender and blend them into a smooth mass. Place the mass in an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Once ready, it is good to eat, or you may pour the mass in a cup and let it freeze (for at least 4 hours). If you have no ice cream maker, put the bowl with sorbet in the freezer, mixing it with a spoon every 20 minutes during the first one-and-a-half hours.

“Both adults and children love the strawberry and lime sorbet. But when you’re completely out of time to make something like that, the new ice cream “Nu Smoothie” with apricot will be just as great,” says Linda Tellgrena from the blog lindasvirtuve.lv.

Raspberry-Baileys sorbet – Anita Kunda’s recipe, blogs meklejotpriekus.blogspot.com

“I recommend making the raspberry-Baileys sorbet in the latter half of June, when raspberries are in season. But while raspberries and blackberries are ripening in Grandma’s garden, we have the delicious, completely natural “Nu Smoothie” sorbet with raspberries,” says Anita Kunda who runs the meklejotpriekus.blogspot.com blog.

Ingredients: 300 g of raspberries, 100 ml of Baileys liqueur.

Preparation: Pour raspberries in a blender, mix them with Baileys, pour into a plastic container with a lid, and put it in a freezer. Mix it with a fork once every hour, to be served in 3-4 hours. Don’t leave this sorbet in the freezer for all night as it will freeze rock-solid.

Cherry and rhubarb sorbet – Laine Dūne’s recipe, blog bitesblogs.blogspot.com
Ingredients: 1 medium rhubarb (about 170 g), 300 g of cherries, 180 g of water, 100 g of brown sugar, ½ lemon juice.

Preparation: Boil water with sugar in a kettle, add rhubarb – peeled and cut to bits, let it boil for some time. Add cherries, let it all boil for a few minutes. Let the mass cool, squeeze in some lemon juice into it, blend. Pour the mass in a container with a lid and put it in the freezer. You may mix it a few times while it is freezing. Blend once more before serving.