Frequently Asked Questions

Aside from being acknowledged as delicious frozen desserts, there is a lot of confusion between sorbet, sherbet, and ice cream.

First, they aren’t all ice cream.

Now that your mind has been blown, we’ll elaborate.

While other ingredients such as salt, lemon juice, water, or vodka may be used, here are the components of each frozen dessert:

Sorbet – Main Ingredient* + Sugar

Sherbet – Main Ingredient* + Sugar + Dairy

(4% or less milk fat from heavy cream, contains no egg)

Gelato – Main Ingredient* + Sugar + Dairy

(4% to 9% milk fat primarily from milk with some heavy cream, may contain egg)

Ice Cream – Main Ingredient* + Sugar + Dairy

(10% or more milk fat from milk and heavy cream, often contains egg)

Because the primary ingredient of sorbets and sherbets is not dairy, they teeechnically are not ice creams, even though we all tend to clump them in the same group. When prepared correctly, both can produce a smooth, dense product, mimicking the finest ice creams. However, with the lower dairy content, the flavors of the main ingredient stand out more.

To be classified as an ice cream in the United States, frozen desserts must contain at least 10% milk fat. More often than not, it’s between 14% and 25%. In Italian, “gelato” literally translates to “ice cream.” To be classified as a gelato in Italy, it must contain 3% or more milk fat; the USDA hasn’t come up with any specifications so there isn’t a guideline in the United States as there is with ice cream. Traditionally, ice cream usually has more cream than milk while gelato has more milk than cream. Lastly, gelato has less air in it and is stored at a slightly higher temperature to ensure a smoother, denser mouthfeel. This, in turn, creates a more decadent experience.

As you can see, there are a lot of hairs to split when examining your frozen dessert options.

If we’re speaking colloquially, you’ve probably heard it pronounced “shur-bert.” However, it’s technically pronounced “shur-bit.” We’re not sure how that R in the second syllable wormed its way in there, so you’ll hear us use the latter. That said, we all know it’s really pronounced “dee-li-shus.”

Remember, you only want to visit the desert (one S) once, nor do you care to be deserted in the middle of the desert; you’d love a second serving of dessert (two Ss).

Because there’s an eight-year-old that lives inside of Beth who refuses to grow up. She gets excited about lava, riding in helicopters, trips to Disneyland, going to baseball games, and many other simple pleasures. They ignite a childlike delight and wonder in her. Sherbet is one of those things from her childhood she’s never outgrown. She enjoys ice cream as much as the next person, but it’s readily available from a bunch of craft manufacturers. Not so with sherbet. And our sherbet is not what you normally find in the grocery store or get in a school or hospital cafeteria. Ours is the best sherbet you’ve never taste. So, taste it!

Excellent question! We’re sorry to say, we have a lot of taste testers. We’re related to some of them, but we also have some very serious—and brutally honest—testers who help hone our flavors.

This is a fun one. One scoop of sherbet is four (4) ounces. For reals. Most folks just don’t realize that’s the size of a single scoop. As such, a pint contains four servings. Now. If we’re being totally honest, when sitting on the couch with a pint of sherbet, the likelihood of eating only one quarter of the carton is low. We’ll give you the nutritional facts for four (4) ounces, but it’s your call as to whether you consider one serving to be one scoop or two. Or three or four.

All of them, of course. (If you’re wondering, Beth’s favorite is Walter’s Bliss. She had boysenberry vines growing in her front yard as a child and still loves their flavor! Close and tied for second are Lilikoi, The Whip, and for the times she can’t pick a single flavor, Fruit Salad.)

Well, we have a couple things running interference on flavor availability.

First, as much as we wish it were so, we don’t control the seasons for various fruit. If we have a flavor whose fruit is available for only a short season (for any southern Californians out there, think olallieberry pies and their two weeks of availability every June), we can only produce the flavor while supplies last. Once the fruit is gone, it won’t be available until the next year.

Second, scarcity of a variety, such as Mara DuBois strawberries, can make it a rarer flavor in our inventory. Tell us the truth, until now, you didn’t know the Mara DuBois variety existed. That’s because it’s not one of the standard, mass-produced varieties. Our friends at Harry’s Berries^® produce this variety, along with the more well-known Gaviotas and Seascapes. Their Gavs are produced for the entirety of their season and Seascapes for most of the season. The number of plants by variety are slanted toward the Gavs and Seascapes due to their popularity. Fewer plants equals fewer berries equals scarcity of product equals limited edition flavor.

Third, we don’t control the weather. If massive storm systems move through an area, it may affect farm production. You might not know it, but too much rain can cause an entire crop to fail. Any plants grown on or near the ground are subject to flooding, hail can destroy the fruit and blossoms, too much heat can destroy a crop, frost can take out an entire grove’s pre-harvest fruit. When any of these things happen, we have to wait for the plants and trees to recover. And that takes time.

We have a handful of flavors that are always available, everything else rotates in and out. This includes seasonal and limited edition flavors. If you want a flavor that is not currently in rotation, you can use the contact form to order it.

NOTE – All orders are subject to the availability of raw ingredients.

NOTE – Due to volume requirements for the machinery, we do require a minimum order of two (2) quarts.