Water ices are composed principally of syrup or sugar and fruit juice. Of this class of ices sherbets are the best known. There are simple and compound sherbets. The simple sherbet contains but one kind of fruit juice, though the juice of a lemon is usually added to each quart of syrup, in order to accentuate or bring out the flavor of the fruit; the compound sherbet contains the juice of two or more kinds of fruit. In a raspberry sherbet half a cup of currant juice is often used in the place of lemon juice.

The method of making a fine-grained sherbert-one that will keep frozen as long as a cream ice -is as follows: To sugar syrup at 28° by the syrup gauge add fruit juice to bring the density down to 20°, then add one teaspoonful of gelatine, softened in two tablespoonfuls of cold water and melted over hot water. When the mixture is frozen, add to a gallon of sherbet a meringue made of the stiff-beaten white of an egg and one tablespoonful of hot sugar syrup or powdered sugar. It is more trouble to make the meringue of the syrup, but it is richer and more creamy than the meringue made of uncooked sugar.

In Europe most delicious sherbets are made of pure fruit juice and sugar, no water being used. The sugar is simply stirred into the fruit juice and, when it is thoroughly dissolved, the mixture is frozen. On account of the absence of water this form of sherbet is also smooth and fine-grained.

In making granites and frappé, water is added to fruit juice and sugar and the mixture is frozen without cooking; the gelatine and meringue finish are also omitted. The omission of these things together with the fact that water is used uncooked, tends to make these ices more or less granular and crystalline in texture. They are served in cups when only half frozen, and they melt very quickly.

Punches are water ices to which liquors are added, usually after the ices are frozen. Lemon and pineapple ice are considered the most suitable for the purpose. They are also finished with meringue.