We All SCREAM for Sorbet

It’s summer, so bring on the ice cream! I bet the lines at my favorites Ici and Bi-Rite Creamery are pretty long this hot weekend. But last weekend I discovered something different at the Temescal Farmers’ Market in the ‘hood.

This was the first time I spotted the Scream Sorbet tent at the Sunday market (which is in the parking lot of the Clairemont DMV in Oakland). This fairly new company was started by a couple of guys in Emeryville, and they’ve only been selling at farmers markets in the Bay Area. (There have been reports that they’ve been spotted at Alameda and Jack London Square. But you can find out where they’ll be by checking their Web site.)

So far their hand-made sorbets of seasonal, organic fruit have created a lot of positive buzz. Their flavors change often (again, check the Web site) but last weekend they were selling Maple-Walnut, Lemon-Buttermilk, Peach-Raspberry, Cherry-Lime, Carrot-Ginger and Strawberry-Rhubard.

They’re really good about letting you taste test their flavors, and I pretty much tried them all. There were definitely some nice ones (Peach-Raspberry was my favorite) and the oddities (Carrot-Ginger is great as soup but not so much as ice cream unless this is an Iron Chef challenge). What struck me as interesting were all the raves I was hearing from people around me. Almost everyone loved the sorbet, even though I didn’t think every flavor was a home-run.

The sorbet itself is definitely a plus. The texture is silky and gooey, resembling very much the house-made sorbets at fancy restaurants. It’s so thick that it really felt like eating ice cream. While there’s a definite sweetness, the girl behind the counter says it all comes from the natural fruits.

And now, the price. You know, I think I’m the only food person that’s so concerned about pricing because most critiques I read never seem to point out when they think pricing may be too high. Not me. I believe in paying for quality food, but sometimes it can be over the border. I’m ambivalent about Scream Sorbet so I’d be interested to hear what others think.

Scream Sorbet sells their sorbets by the single scoop or double scoop, and it costs $3 for a single. (I forgot the price for the double.) $3 might not sound too bad, but the scoop really looked kind of small. It’s in a really small, white paper cup and the scooping isn’t very generous. Sometimes you’re at Ici and you might get a really big scoop of ice cream to make paying that much worth it. And I know Bi-Rite goes crazy scooping large portions, even for the kid size I typically order! I can’t say the same for Scream.

I was at the Temescal market early in the morning and I wasn’t in the mood for sorbet for breakfast, so I decided to buy some to try later at home. The small plastic container, which is about a pint, sells for $10. Am I crazy but isn’t that a bit much? The girl at the counter (who actually was the girlfriend of one of the partners) says it’s equivalent to six scoops, and that I could mix flavors if I wanted.

I ended up getting the Peach-Raspberry and the Strawberry-Rhubard. But as I stood there I was getting buyer’s remorse, so I asked if I could just get two scoops of each flavor instead of three. The girl agreed and charged me only $7 instead of $10.

I enjoyed my sorbet later that night after dinner, and again the next night and it was a really luxurious experience. The Strawberry-Rhubard was sweeter than the Peach-Raspberry but still good. And I liked the Peach-Raspberry because it was subtle in flavor.

So if you spot the Scream Sorbet tent at your local farmers market, give it a try. It definitely is a treat. But let me know if you think it’s worth the price.

Scream Sorbet, currently available only at farmers markets in the East Bay. screamsorbet.com