Vegan Frozen Mikan Sorbet

Name: Vegan Frozen Mikan Sorbet
Prep time: 1440 min
Total time: 1440 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 6 medium satsuma

How to use your leftover satsumas to create a frozen dessert which is vegan, healthy and 100% natural. Plus tastes like an epic vegan sorbet.

by Cory Varga

Updated 19 December 2024

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Frozen mikan is also known as Japanese satsuma mandarin which has been frozen without any added ingredients. The result is a tasty vegan sorbet, which tastes incredible, it's flavoursome and 100% natural.

frozen mikan ready to be eaten as vegan sorbet

With summer just around the corner, many vegans are about to start spending lots on vegan frozen desserts made with alternative dairy. Those products are usually costly, processed and unhealthy. Since we're addicted to vegan frozen desserts, we needed to find a healthier alternative to satisfy our sweet tooth in the summer. After many attempts, we've turned to Japan for inspiration, where we discovered the holy grail of vegan sorbet: frozen mikan, also known as frozen satsuma mandarin.

What is a frozen mikan

If you've never heard of a frozen mikan before, I understand. Until a month ago, I've never of it either but now I'm definitely obsessed with this dessert. Mikan is a semi-seedless, easy-peeling citrus species referred to as a satsuma. I'm sure you've seen satsuma in your local supermarket and you've purchased them during the winter months before.

Nowadays, you can find satsumas all year round and they provide a much-needed source of vitamin C. So what exactly is a frozen mikan and how is it related to a vegan sorbet? Frozen mikan is essentially just that: a mikan fruit that has been frozen overnight. Once frozen, the mikan preserves its tastes, and the result is a super easy to eat frozen fruit that tastes just like orange sorbet.

The best thing is that it's vegan, it's easy, it's cheap and it's healthy. It's essentially frozen citrus so you can imagine how incredible it is: full of flavour, refreshing, ice-cold, with an explosion of taste when bitten into.

Delicious frozen satsuma ready to be eaten

How the Japanese consume mikan

As previously mentioned, mikan is a winter fruit so historically, the Japanese would freeze them so they can enjoy mikan in the summer. When ready, they'd be eaten half-frozen, becoming the easiest and healthiest vegan sorbet.

Mikan is also super healthy and if you've ever travelled to Japan, you'll notice how expensive fruit really is. Mikan is an affordable fruit during the winter which can be stored and enjoyed in the summer too. This provides Japanese people with vitamin C, fibre, zinc, potassium and vitamin A.

How to make vegan frozen mikan sorbet

You won't believe how easy it is to make this recipe. Vegan frozen mikan sorbet takes no effort whatsoever. Essentially, all you need to do is to place the mikan in the freezer and wait.

According to the Japanese method, you should wait until your mikan is completely frozen, then take them out and briefly dip them in cold water before returning them back to the freezer. That's meant to stop your fruit from drying out, thus making your frozen sorbet a lot juicier and nicer.

Furthermore, this method will also create a beautiful thin layer of ice around the skin of the mikan. I recommend freezing the mikan in its original peel as, after a few minutes on the countertop, the mikan is so easy to peel.

bowl of frozen mikan ready to be eaten as vegan sorbet

However, if you prefer, you can peel the mikan and place it in the freezer wrapped in cling wrap, in a freezer bag.

That's it, you are now ready to enjoy an amazing vegan frozen sorbet. It's a cheat recipe as it's basically just making the most out of fruit and a freezer. But honestly, you'll love the result and you won't ever want to spend money on store-bought satsuma flavoured sorbet.

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.