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WFAEats
Welcome to WFAEats — a fun adventure where we explore all things tasty and interesting in the Charlotte food scene. We want to share stories, recipes and culinary escapades and hear about yours!

Fight The Flu With Soothing Sorbet

sorbet
Joy
/
CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Move over, chicken soup. Step aside, cough drops. There’s a new flu fighter in town. And it’s going to send those aches and pains packing, right into the deep freeze – literally.

For a long time, folks have extolled the virtues of honey, lemon, ginger, and whiskey, stirred together in a steamy brew, to help ease the miseries of the flu. But consider this: Those same ingredients, frozen into a slush or sorbet, can have the added benefit of cooling a raw throat and might even ease that feverish feeling. 

We got a hot tip about an actual “Influenza Sorbet” made by Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Ohio, but were disappointed to find out it’s not currently available for purchase. So we tracked down the recipe that will instruct you how to make your own. If that’s too much to manage, we have a short cut below to a version that will yield a result that’s still pretty cool.

Now, for purists who still prefer their remedies hot, check out the world’s easiest recipe for Hot Buttered Rum that we crafted here at WFAEats a while back.

The good news is that Jeni’s is planning to open a “Scoop Shop” in Charlotte later in 2018. The timing should be perfect. With any luck, we can talk Jeni into stockpiling some “Influenza Sorbet” early in the season. Everything else aside, it never hurts to be prepared for what may lie ahead, next year.

Short-Cut Flu-Fighter Sorbet

One pint of lemon or orange sorbet

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons whiskey, or more to taste

Fresh ginger, peeled and grated, about a tablespoon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste

Allow the sorbet to slightly soften at room temperature, then scoop into an 8” x 8” pan and smooth out uniformly. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over the sorbet, then use a fork to mix lightly. Do not allow to thaw. This can be eaten immediately or refrozen, but the more alcohol you add, the more slushy it will become. Yields one pint.

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