beating the heat: sherbet

every holy week, we go to pampanga to participate in the lenten procession. we prepare our antique carosa for the evening walk around town. part of the event is to absorb all the heat summer has to give. to combat this, we get a nice locally made sherbet at the nearby market. you usually order this a day ahead as it needs time to set and to freeze.

but several summers ago, when the coconut trees are still bearing lots of fruits (or nuts), we make our own sherbet. young coconuts are gathered from the trees. they are cut open with the juice reserved. the meat is then scraped into strips. juice and the coconut strips are combinde together with water and sugar.

the secret to a good coconut sherbet is the dalayap. this is a golf ball sized green native lemon whose rind is used more than that of the juice. the rind has a mellow scent somewhat similar to lemon grass with hints of lime. when mixed with sherbet, the rind's scent will infuse into the coconut mixture producing flavors that will cool you off on a summer's day.

the preparation includes a calapinyera. this is an aluminum cylindrical container where the coconut mixture is placed. then the calapinyera is placed inside another bigger conical wooden case. crushed ice mixed with sea salt is placed inbetween the calapinyera and the wooden case that envelopes the aluminum canister. salt will slow down the melting process of the ice giving it more time to freeze the coconut juice.

once prepared, the calapinyera is mixed and moved in a circular motion so that the juice inside will freeze faster. since it is continuously mixed, the juice will not freeze into one solid piece. instead, it will be in a state similar to finely crushed ice. if ice supply is good, setting will just take 4 hours of mixing....or even less.

variations have evolved on this local sherbet. sometimes they are mixed with milk, fruits of the season, cheese, chocolate and other local flavors available.