Thursday, May 10, 2012

Scream Sorbet

Warm weather makes me crave one thing even more than foie gras: ice cream!

I've never been a fan of sorbet, as it has always seemed inferior in every way to ice cream, gelato, or soft serve frozen yogurt.  Perhaps the only thing it beats out for me is nasty hard frozen yogurt.  But ... there is one place that makes sorbet that does indeed make me consider it something worthwhile: Scream Sorbet!

Scream sells at the Thursday and Saturday Ferry Building farmer's markets (among other locations).  Their sorbet is made fresh in small batches, and the flavors change constantly.  They generally have a few nut based flavors and a few pure fruit flavors.  The nut ones are often incredibly creamy and indistinguishable from ice cream, and the fruity ones can be intensely flavorful and refreshing, really capturing the essence of fresh, seasonal fruit!  And the staff are always so friendly, and seem to genuinely love the product!

I present to you my tasting notes, from the past year+ of trying various sorbets.  As always, subsequent tastings are listed in brackets.  
  • Chocolatey
    • Hazelnut chocolate: Like frozen nutella.  Nice! [ hazelnut flavor not that great ] [  yum, tastes like nutella ]
    • Chocolate coffee: very nice coffee flavor.
    • Valhrona chocolate: Nice chocolate flavor, really creamy, very good.
    • Chocolate coconut: nice coconut flavor, combines well with chocolate. [ Somewhat gritty texture from the cocoa powder, no coconut flavor, didn’t really like this ].
    • Chocolate almond: kinda chaulky, not very good.
    • Chocolate saffron: not much flavor.
    • Spicy chocolate pecan: creamy and flavorful [nice spice like mexican chocolate] [ nice and spicy, don’t taste pecans ] [ strange mouthfeel, nice spice ]
    • Chocolate peppermint: subtle peppermint, not very chocolatey.
  • Nutty
    • Peanut brittle: not as intense peanut flavor as I'd like.
    • Maple walnut: nice flavors [decent but not that flavorful]
    • Cashew chai: really nice.  chai flavor was great.  really liked this one [again, really good]  [ nice chai flavor ] [really nice chai flavor]
    • Pistachio: very pistachio-y but I don’t like pistachio much to start with.
    • Coffee almond: nice coffee flavor.  [  Icy but good coffee flavor ]
    • Cashew caramel: meh [ tastes like a honey roasted cashew, really caramely, yum ]
    • Almond pink peppercorn: savory, strong pepper flavor.
    • Almond vanilla: nice nutty flavor.
    • Saffron almond: Nice saffron flavor
    • Peanut vanilla: Creamy, very strong peanut flavor, awesome. [ Really creamy, great peanut flavor ]
    • Almond pink peppercorn: Very savory, not sweet, pepper flavor is subtle.  If you like savory sorbet, I could imagine really liking this.  It could have some fantastic pairings as well.
    • Vanilla macadamia: Really great flavor from macadamias, good vanilla flavor too.  Definitely like this one!
  • Fruity
    • Lime mint: mint flavor really intense from fresh mint leaf.  not my thing but very intense flavor
    • Orange mate: subtle flavor but nice.
    • Pineapple guava: bursting with flavor, refreshing, but you have to like the flavor of these things
    • Pear: super flavorful!
    • Quince: very sweet
    • Apple walnut: tastes like apple sorbet, no walnut flavor [ sorta like applesauce] [sorta apple but meh ]
    • Cranberry satsuma: nice and tart!  cranberry and satsuma flavors both very pronouced and delicious
    • Quince vanilla: meh, no real flavor [ meh, no real flavor, soggy ]
    • Page mandarin: nice strong citrus flavor
    • Tangelo: very intense citrus flavor, but meh, citrus. [ Nice tart citrus flavor. ]
    • Guava: refreshing, nice guava flavor.
    • Grapefruit: sweet, not very strong grapefruit flavor, more like a classic sorbet, kinda icy.
    • Strawberry lemon: not very flavorful
    • Strawberry shortcake: this is kinda amazing.  shortcake flavor is simulated using almonds.
    • Olallieberry: Just kinda sweet, not great flavor.
    • Blackberry olive oil: This was really strange! The blackberry was sweet and tart, and the olive oil was really strong on the finish.  Not flavors I'd ever think of putting together, but ... it worked in a really surprising way.
    • Spicy peach: refreshing, yet with a nice kick.  Very good!
  • Vegetable-y
    • Pumpkin guts: pumpkin seed, not as flavorful as I’d want.
    • Kambucha coconut: decent pumpkin flavor.

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