Lemon Granita
Lemon granita is a frozen Italian dessert made from water, sugar, and fresh lemon juice, scraped repeatedly during freezing to create its signature coarse, icy crystals. It requires no special equipment — just a shallow pan and a fork — and takes about 3 hours of intermittent scraping to reach the right texture.
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Freezer-safe container
- Fork
- Grater
- Citrus juicer
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar superfine if possible
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest from organic lemons
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice preferably from Sicilian lemons
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved completely, forming a syrup. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest, allowing the aroma to infuse the syrup for about 5 minutes. This imparts a lively lemon fragrance to the granita.
- Stir in the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Transfer the mixture to a shallow, freezer-safe container.
- Place the container in the freezer and after about 1 hour, use a fork to scrape the ice crystals that have begun to form around the edges.
- Return to the freezer, scraping the mixture with a fork every 30 minutes to create a fluffy, snowy texture. This process will take approximately 3-4 hours.
Notes
- For a deeper lemon flavor, allow the zest to steep in the syrup for longer.
- For an additional twist, consider adding a splash of Limoncello to the mixture before freezing.
Nutrition
Calories: 111kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 0.3gFat: 0.2gSaturated Fat: 0.03gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.02gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.003gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 68mgFiber: 1gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 5IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 0.1mg
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