Homemade Italian Ice FTW
It’s always more fun to DIY. Every week, we’ll spare you a trip to the grocery store and show you how to make small batches of great foods at home.
Today: Italian ice is just the thing to cool down summer’s sweatiest days. Thanks to Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest, you don’t have to stop at your favorite stand to get some.
It’s hot, it’s humid: Well, that’s likely the case for most of you. I live in Colorado — not in Denver where it’s 100 degrees, but up in the mountains of Summit County, where the high for today was 62.
While I may not be sweating my butt off, I am still taking advantage of summer the best way I know how: with lots of homemade ice cream, summer berries, cherries, and now, homemade Italian ice, too.
Some day I will make it to Italy for the summer, but until then, I can make myself some Italian ice and pretend I am walking the streets of Rome. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s so easy: It takes just minutes to prepare, and there’s no special ice cream maker required. Just use a blender or food processor, then let the freezer do the heavy lifting.
Makes 4 cups
3 cups fresh fruit of your choice
2 to 4 tablespoons honey or granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups ice
Add the fruit (I used strawberries, pineapple, and blueberries), honey or sugar (I used 2 tablespoons of honey), lemon juice, and 2 cups of ice to the bowl of a food processor or a high-powered blender.
Blend the mixture until chunky, and then add the remaining cup of ice. Blend until completely smooth.
Pour the mixture into a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the Italian ice from the freezer and scrape it with a fork until slushy. Place it back in the freezer for another 2 hours.
After the 2 hours are up, you can scoop the ice into cups. If it’s too frozen-solid to scoop, either let the ice sit out for 5 minutes so that it softens, or add it to a blender and blend until the mixture has a slushy consistency.
Scoop your Italian ice into cups and enjoy it with a colorful spoon. I highly recommend making multiple flavors, and serving them together for a real treat.
More: The only way to eat Italian ice is with a decorative wooden spoon.
Makes 4 cups
3 cups fresh fruit (I’ve tried strawberries, blueberries, pineapple)
2 to 4 tablespoons honey or granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups ice
To the bowl of a food processor or high powered blender, add the fruit, honey or sugar (I used 2 tablespoons honey), lemon juice, and 2 cups ice. Blend the mixture until chunky and then add the remaining 1 cup of ice. Blend until completely smooth.
Pour the mixture into a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the ice from the freezer and scrape it with a fork until slushy. Return to the freezer for another 2 hours.
After 2 hours, you can then scoop the ice into cups. If the ice is too hard to scoop, let it sit out for 5 minutes to soften, or add the ice to a blender and blend until slushy. Scoop into cups.
Photos by Tieghan Gerard
