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real italian ice (fresh berry granita)

(1 rating)
cyrene avatar
Recipe by
Linda Kauppinen
@cyrene
Greenwood, FL

My grandmother's friend Rose used to sell this recipe at their pizza parlor in NJ. They always ran out and of course made this in much larger quantities! Granite are scraped ices. They are somewhat similar in icy texture to a sno-kone. These are made by hand. Also since most Granite do not contain dairy products, most are nonfat. Properly made, granita consists of tiny, individual, shimmering crystals of flavored ice. With so little sugar and no dairy, granite should taste of fruit or espresso. The trick is to distill the essence of the fruit into the frozen ice. Enjoy!!

(1 rating)
yield 4 serving(s)
prep time 3 Hr
method Refrigerate/Freeze

Ingredients For real italian ice (fresh berry granita)

  • 3 c
    fresh berries, puree (your choice. mix and match the sky is the limit!)
  • 1 1/2 c
    cold water
  • 1/2 c
    sugar or to taste

How To Make real italian ice (fresh berry granita)

  • 1
    Combine 3 cups berry puree and 1 1/2 cups cold water. Press teh mixture through a fine sieve to remove any skins or seeds. Sweeten with 1/3 cup sugar or to taste.
  • 2
    In a 13x9x2 inch ceramic or glass pan, pour mixture into the pan. Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  • 3
    Using a large metal spoon, stir frozen crystals from around the edges of the pan back into the liquid. Put pan back into the freezer for another 30 minutes.
  • 4
    As the mixture continues to freeze, scrape the sppon against the sides and bottom of the pan to loosen and break up the frozen crystals. Repeat this scraping process every 30 minutes or so until the mixture is frozen and a bit creamy. About 3 hours total. Scoop the crystals into individual serving bowls or goblets and serve immediately.
  • 5
    Chefs Note: The sky is the limit with this. You can work with virtually any fresh fruit juice. Some combinations would be: Espresso Granita: 2 c brewed espresso with 1/4 c sugar. Add a tbsp or so of your favorite liqueur optional Caffe Latte Granita: Combine 1/2 c espresso with 1 c milk and 1/4 c sugar. Lemon Granita: Combine 1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice with 1 1/2 c cold water, 1/2 c sugar and a tsp or so of grated lemon zest. Orange or Pink Grapefruit Granita: 1 1/2 C freshly squeezed orange or pink grapefruit juice with 1/2 c cold water, 1/3 c sugar, and a tsp or so of grated orange or grapefruit zest. You can use strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, watermelon, peaches and more..as I said, the sky is the limit!
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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