Sherbet

Sherbet is a frozen dessert containing fruit, sugar, and water with a small amount of milk or cream, lighter than ice cream but creamier than sorbet. In British usage the name also covers a fizzy powdered sweet that effervesces on the tongue. Fruit sherbets retain some of the fruit’s vitamin C, and their quality depends on smooth freezing that keeps ice crystals small. Both versions are beloved treats. Both meanings delight in different ways. It is a word with a double life.