The "Some Things Still Taste Best Made The Old-Fashioned Way" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting with Carol in the market area along the water's edge in the city of Marigot sharing a mango sorbet which we had just purchased at the sorbet Maison, a few steps from our bench.  The stand, located in the outdoor market on the French side of St. Martin, makes home-made ice cream, as well as sorbet, as you watch.  

A young girl churns the passion-fruit sorbet.

Getting us our mango sorbet.

 The owner of the stand, Liliane Hyman, hails from Guadeloupe where she acquired her ice cream making skills.  Sitting on the table in the stand are three wooden churns that are filled with ice then layered with rock salt which keeps the ice from melting too fast. In the center of the wooden churns are metal drums that hold the ingredients needed to create their treats.  The lid is placed on top and locked in place and the churning begins.  Takes about half an hour before the sorbet or ice cream is ready to eat.  I can remember years ago churning ice cream with my brother in the backyard of my childhood home on North Queen Street in Lancaster.  Began as something fun to do until your arm got sore from the turning.  I can only imagine how tough it must be for Liliane and her family to hand-churn buckets of ice cream and sorbet all day long in the intense heat of the outdoor Marigot market.  

 The flavors being made today were coconut ice cream, mango and passion-fruit sorbet.  We were told that the coconut ice cream is a favorite, but we opted for the mango sorbet since it sounded more Caribbean.  The coarse rock salt is imported from Guadeloupe and is called "ice cream salt."  Usually the guys in her family do the churning, but when we arrived today, a young girl was churning away on the passion-fruit sorbet.  They offered four sizes which cost $3 to $6 and were based on size of container.  We ordered the smallest size since they had just enough mango sorbet remaining in the metal tub to make that size.  It was actually just enough for the two of us on the hot day.  If you ever visit the island of Sint Maarten/St. Martin, stop in Marigot and visit the truly old-fashioned ice cream/sorbet making stand a try.  Neat to see it made as I remember from my youth. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A refreshing treat on a hot day.