Strawberry sorbet: 20 cents/serving

As predicted, our strawberry patch this year is out of control (in a good way), yielding several pounds of strawberries every week. This was all fine and good for a while, but after eating strawberries for lunch, snacks, and dessert for days at a time, we were ready for a different iteration. I make this sorbet every summer after the novelty of plain strawberries wears off, and so far this week we’ve already made two batches of it. It’s pretty simple—just strawberries, sugar, and a little lemon juice (and optional kirsch), but we both prefer it to just about every frozen dessert out there. It’s also a good way to use up ripe strawberries that got half-eaten by slugs—just wash, trim out the bad parts, and store in the freezer until you’ve accumulated one pound.

Xoconostle (cactus fruit) sorbet: 72 cents/serving

Despite my long-held belief that one did not exist in the Portland metro area, I have finally found a truly great Mexican market.* A voluminous produce aisle, bin after bin of dried and fresh chiles, banana leaves, you name it. It even had something I had never heard of or seen before: xoconostle. At first I thought they were prickly pears, but upon further inspection I discovered they were smaller, paler, and spineless. Throwing caution to the wind, I bought some. Once I got them home and cut them open, I was even more confused. Not only was the flesh pale and all the seeds centered in the middle, unlike a prickly pear, but the things were sour. Like, lemon sour. As in, would probably make a super-refershing sorbet sour.

Splurge: pear-ginger sorbet: 52 cents/serving

This unexpectedly creamy and fragrant sorbet tastes artificially flavored, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s so fruity and, well, pear-y, that it’s almost unfathomable that the only ingredients are fruit, water, and a little bit of sugar. You may have to let the pears sit out for a few days to become ripe enough; don’t even think of using rock-hard ones. You will be rewarded for your patience.

Splurge: pink grapefruit-champagne sorbet: $1.47/serving

Granted, this might sound like something served at a Midwestern Passion Party in decoratively etched plastic goblets from Dollar Tree, but it’s probably one of the most refreshing sorbets you’ll ever taste, not to mention the perfect antidote for heavy winter stews and braises. It’s also seasonal—meaning grapefruits are probably on sale at your local supermarket right now—and super-easy to make. Even if you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can easily turn this into a granita: Just freeze it in a wide, shallow container and then break it up with a fork.