We have Emperor Nero, who lived in Rome and ruled around 60 A.D., to thank for his love of icy treats of fruits and nectars. It is said that he sent his slaves as runners to climb the nearby Apennine mountains to amass snow and ice to provide him with frozen treats all year long.
Much later, in 1533, icy treats traveled from Italy to France when Catherine de’ Medici married Henry II. Among her chefs was Ruggeri, thought to be the first professional iced dessert maker. During her month-long wedding celebration, he created and served a different ice daily, with flavors including lemon, lime, orange, cherry, and wild strawberry to surprise the royal banquets guests.
Even then, commercial ventures in gelato (literally means “frozen”) involved gathering ice from lakes in winter, storing it in holes dug in the ground, and covering it with straw.
Although available often in cities throughout Italy, we make our own granita …fresh fruit, sugar and, yes, ice.
Try this yourself on a hot day as a treat that can be kept in the freezer and enjoyed when nothing else will be as light and cool. Substitute other fruits or add liqueurs for a different but delightful taste.
Recipe below..
WATERMELON GRANITA
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups seeded and chopped watermelon (about a 3 1/4 pound wedge)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, or to taste
Preparation:
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 3/4 cup water, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Then let the syrup cool.
In a blender or food processor, puree the seeded watermelon. In a bowl combine the puree, syrup and lemon juice and chill the mixture, covered, for 1 to 2 hours, or until it is cold. The mixture may be made up to this point 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.
Stir the mixture, transfer it to a freezable container and freeze it, scraping shavings of the ice with a fork to lighten the texture every 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the temperature of the freezer, for 2 to 3 hours, or until it is firm but not frozen hard.
Serve it in chilled bowls on a hot day for a round of applause!
-- Written by Evanne Brandon Diner (see bio), chronicler of local village life in Northern Lazio, and central Italy property restoration and purchasing consultant (www.lavventuraitalia.com)
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Looks delicious on this hot summer’s day!
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Mmmm. I’m off to buy a watermelon right away. Does it work with melone as well?
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Thank you for the recipe… I’d make it but unfortunately I don’t have an empty freezer as shown, as with every Italian-American I know my freezer is filled to the gills… I’m thinking about buying another fridge just to freeze more stuff… I have so much frozen food that I have to tape the freezer door shut. Aiuto!!!!
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
YUM! What a great idea – perfect for the 4th of July!
July 5th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Yum is right – I’ll have to try this. Thanks so much. We loved coffee granita in Sicily – served with a dollop of whipped cream, it was absolutely decadent!
July 26th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Going to make it right now… How about a lemon gelato receipe.