What’s a more nostalgic treat than rainbow sherbet? The electric green, magenta and bright orange hues transport us right back to childhood, licking dribbles off our sticky fingers. Turns out, it’s a fun project to make at home: and tastes infinitely better than the store-bought stuff. Here’s a bit more about the stuff and how to make it at home!
What is rainbow sherbet?
Rainbow sherbet is a creamy frozen dessert that layers three or more different flavors, traditionally orange, lime and raspberry. It was invented in the 1950s in Pennsylvania, after an ice cream company employee invented a way to fill a carton with three different flavors of sherbet at once (source). Sherbet is made of blended fruit, sugar, and cream or milk, then churned like ice cream to make its signature frosty texture. It’s like a lighter version of ice cream: sherbet 1 to 2% milkfat, whereas ice cream has at least 10% milkfat. Most rainbow sherbet has a mix of bright orange, pink, and green sherbet to match the orange, raspberry and lime flavors. But there are variations: the Baskin Robbins variety features pineapple, orange and raspberry.
Tips for making rainbow sherbet
Homemade sherbet is easy to make and has a pure, fruity and creamy flavor. It’s well worth making it over opting for store-bought! However, making rainbow sherbet at home is a bit of a project because you have to make three separate sorbet flavors. You’ll also need an ice cream maker. Here are a few notes on the process:
Make the orange, lime and raspberry sherbet recipes separately. Freeze each one until ready to serve. See each recipe for the ingredient lists. If you have an ice cream maker with a freezer insert, plan to complete this over 3 days. Why? You’ll need to re-freeze the base overnight after making each sherbet flavor. But if you’ve got a different type of ice cream maker, you may be able to handle churning the three flavors back to back.Fill a loaf pan with alternating scoops of each color of sherbet, starting with a layer in the bottom of about 6 dollops. Then add another layer on top, and another until the container is filled. Resist the urge to stir. Smooth out the top with a spoon.Freeze. Place the container in the freezer and freeze for at least 1 hour to allow it to harden to a scoopable texture.
Serving suggestions
Rainbow sherbet makes a beautifully bright, frosty puree that has so much flavor, you might fall out of your chair. We served it to guests who were incredibly impressed, and of course our 5 year ol was in love. Here are a few notes on serving this rainbow sherbet:
Rainbow sherbet tastes best the day it’s made. But it lasts up to 1 week frozen. Make sure to Don’t want to make 3 flavors over 3 days? We get that. To us, it was a fun challenge. Doesn’t feel doable? Pick one of the three flavors and try just one!
More sherbet recipes
Each one of the sherbet flavors in rainbow sherbet is worth making on its own! Try these tasty flavors separately if you’re not ready for the effort involved in the swirl:
Try sweet and creamy Orange SherbetOpt for ultra zingy Lime Sherbet (our favorite!)Go for sweet berries in bright pink Raspberry Sherbet
This rainbow sherbet recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. 5 from 1 review
