Sorbet question
 

I'm planning a light, summer menu for having some friends over, and decided to do a ginger sorbet for dessert. I tested a ginger sorbet recipe yesterday that came out on the right track but is too cloyingly sweet. If I cut the sugar in half will it still have the appropriate sorbet texture?

The recipe called for lemon zest and juice which brightened it and balanced the ginger but it wasn't enough to balance the sugar. I want it to be light and refreshing.

Half the sugar is going to make the sorbet too icy. You could try HFCS instead of caster sugar, though, as it helps inhibit ice crystals.

(Or, if the whole thing's too sweet, find a fruit for the ginger to piggy-back on, like rhubarb, whose sheer tartness might help anyway...)

Lemon ginger would be good. I haven't tried this, but here's a recipe:
Lemon ginger sorbet from Cooking Light

I see what you mean, but I don't want the flavor to be lemon/ginger. While it has lemon in it to keep it bright, I want the flavor to be just ginger. I'm not a fan of HFCS. How about honey? Something else?

Sorbet question
 

Corn syrup does not have to be hf.

Liquid glucose, if you can get it. Or possibly agave syrup, c but not sure on the proportions.

Or try something like pear and ginger. Quite a subtle flavour and sweetness, but a decent amount of fibre for texture.

organics include things like sugar cane syrup IIRC

you might try seeing if you can find some recipes from top restaurants/chefs online

Thanks everyone! I'll try corn syrup and also look for recipes from top chefs. :D

Definitely not honey, unless you want it to taste like honey. I vote for the agave. You might also play around with a little champagne to dry it out. That will affect iciness, though, I think.

Oh, champagne did cross my mind. Maybe the bubbles would help keep the texture light. I could try replacing some or all of the water with champagne.

Just checked what agave was and if my local Wegmans carried it. (they do) It says it's 25% sweeter than sugar. So the substitution could be tricky. In theory I'd replace the full 2 cups of white sugar with 1.5 cups of agave, and then reduce that amount some more to make a final product that's less sweet, right?

Could get tricky. The agave I use is a syrup, like honey. I use it to sweeten tea. I did not realize it was sweeter than sugar since I use it in such small amounts.

agave is another alternate to HFCS for things like pancake syrups (looking at grocery stores)

Replace the water with soda water. A lot more economical. I'd go hard liquor if you want to introduce alcohol. Don't use too much though and it will make the sorbet melt much quicker.

Strawberry sorbet is wonderful, especially with some mint