Glossary · Ice cream & treats
Sherbet
Definition
In Britain, sherbet is a sweet, fizzy powder. On an ice cream van it adds colour and a sharp fizz to soft serve. In the US the word means a frozen dessert.
British sherbet is a sugary powder with a little acid and bicarbonate in it, so it fizzes on the tongue. It is the same stuff found in old-fashioned sweet shop dips. Ice cream vans use coloured sherbet to give a cone a bright finish and a tangy contrast to the creamy soft serve.
The word causes confusion with American visitors, because in the United States sherbet is a frozen dessert somewhere between a sorbet and an ice cream. If a guest asks for sherbet at a British van, they almost always mean the fizzy topping. Our menu has a Red Sherbet Cone, a Blue Sherbet Cone and a Mixed Sherbet Cone, plus a Mixed Sherbet Waffle on the premium tier. Children tend to choose them for the colour alone.
Related terms
- Soft serveSoft serve is ice cream frozen and whipped to order in a machine, then piped straight into a cone or tub. It is softer and lighter than scooped ice cream.
- Hundreds and thousandsHundreds and thousands are tiny coloured sugar balls or strands scattered over ice cream and cakes. Also called sprinkles or nonpareils.
- SorbetSorbet is a frozen dessert made from fruit juice or purée, sugar and water. It is traditionally made without milk or cream, but recipes vary.
- Waffle coneA waffle cone is a crisp, golden cone rolled from thin baked waffle batter. It is sweeter, sturdier and larger than a standard wafer cone.
- The full glossary54 terms, from soft serve to street trading licences.
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