G
ranitais oneofthosewonderfullysimplesummer
dessertsthatdoesn'trequiremuchfuss– mostof
theworkis doneinthefreezer.It canbemadefrom
almost anyliquid– suchascoffee,nutmilksorjuices- simplybyaddinga littlesugarandwater.Theliquidis frozen
beforebeingscrapedintotinyiceparticleswitha forktoform
thegranita,whichcanthenbeservedonitsownoraspartof
a dessert.Fora fruitgranita,thetextureofthefruitpuréewill
giveyouvariedresults,andthenaturalsweeteners,orfructose,
inthefruitcanaffectfreezing(seeright).Togetstarted,choose
a fruitthatwillyielda goodamountofjuice.Sugarandwater
areaddedtobalancetheflavourorlengthentheliquid.Some
peopleliketoscrapethemixtureeveryfewhoursforease,but
thereis littledifferencebetweendoingthisthroughoutthe
processorat theend.Youcanalsofreezethemixtureinto
pieces that can be grated or microplaned over a dessert.
Step bystep
Flavourcombinations
Grapefruitgranitaworksreallywellservedwithpannacotta.Pairyourfruitjuicewithherbsor
spicesforextraflavour– trylemongrassandmakrutlimeleavesinfusedintoa pineapplegranita.
Combineshisoandcucumberfora moderntwist,oraddpeppercornor chilli to a lemon or lime
granita for a more savoury finish to serve with ceviche or oysters.1
First,prepareyourfruitjuice.
If usinga solidfruit,puréeit in
a foodprocessororblenderfirst,then
strain,oralternatively,putfruitthrough
a juicer.Forwatermelongranita,1kg
fruitwillmake6 servesofgranita.
Tomakea citrusgranita,simplyjuice
thefruit;forlemongranita,300ml
juicewillmake6 servesofgranita.2
Next,addsweetnesswitha basic
sugarsyrup.Thesugar-to-water
ratiowilldependonthesweetness
andconsistencyofyourjuice.For
watermelongranita,combine100gm
castersugarand150mlwaterin a
saucepanandbringtoa simmer,
stirringtodissolvesugar,thenset
asidetocool.Forlemongranita,you’ll
needquitea lotofsugartobalance
theacidanda fairamountofwaterto
slightlydilutethestrongflavour-to-
liquidratio.Combine150gmcaster
sugarand400mlwaterin a saucepan
andbringtoa simmer,stirringto
dissolvesugar.Setasidetocool.3
Oncesyrupis cool,addit tofruit
juice,thenpourthemixtureinto1-2
shallowpansandplacein thefreezer
untilmixtureis frozen(overnight).4
A fewhoursbeforeserving,
scrapethefrozenliquidinthe
panwitha forkintoicecrystals,
thenreturntofreezeruntilready
toserve.Granitacanbemadea
fewdaysaheadandsimplyre-
scraped when ready to serve.●A noteon sugar
Naturalsugarsinfruitsmeanthateachfruitrequiresa different
amountofaddedsweetness.Highlyacidicjuice,suchaslemon
orlime,willneeda decentamountofsugar,whilea sweeterfruit,
like pineapple,won’tneedasmuch.Sugarlosesitssweetness
whenfrozen,somakesuretotastethemixturebeforefreezing,
keepinginmindthatit willbedullerwhenfinished.Thatsaid,too
muchsugarwillcreatea softgranitathatseepssyrup,soadd
sugarinsmallquantities,tastingasyougo.Fruitsthatarehigh
infructose,suchasmangoes,workbetterassorbetratherthan
granita.Fruitsthatcanbejuiced(citrus,passionfruit)orwhich
makea thinpurée(melons,plums)arepreferabletofruitsthat
producea thicknectar(stonefruit,bananas).Cucumberjuice
makes a refreshing granita and you can do it with very little sugar.GOURMET TRAVELLER 43Masterclass
PHOTOGRAPHY WILL HORNER. STYLING JERRIE-JOY REDMAN-LLOYD.