Watermelon granita recipe

Jan 12, 2015by Farmer Liz

In summer we can usually buy cheap watermelons (I am yet to master growing them myself, I think I am missing the key ingredient - water), but usually we can't eat the whole thing. I like to make granita. Granita is like a chunky form of sorbet. I use less sugar than most recipes and I just blend the whole watermelon (rather than juicing it), so you get all the fibre. I also put in some ginger, lemon and herbs (mint, lemon balm and winter tarragon). Pete thought that it tasted too "herby", but I think it complements the watermelon and I love to use my herbs. On a hot summer's day, I'm glad to have some real-food granita to cool me down, rather than a sugary, artificial ice block.

eight acres: real food watermelon granita recipe

I use our handchurn ice cream maker, it takes about 20 minutes to make 1 litre from pre-chilled mixture, but if you don't have an ice cream machine you can just put it straight in the freezer and scrape the sides down every half hour.

Watermelon Granita

Cut up your watermelon and put as many chunks into your blender as you can
Blend the watermelon with the juice of a lemon or lime, a chunk of ginger and herbs to taste, also I use one tablespoon of sugar per litre, as this seem so help it crystalise better, but you could experiment with how much sugar you need.
If you're going to use an icecream machine, either chill the watermelon before cutting, or chill the mixture before churning. If you are just going to use the freezer, put the mixture in a bowl or dish that will fit in your freezer. Churn or scrape the side of your dish until you reach the right texture.

ingredients

the finished granita

This is delicious even before its properly frozen, I don't mind drinking it by the cup full. Do you make granita? How do you keep cool in summer?

eBooks By Eight Acres

View all

eBook - Make Your Own Natural Soap

eBook - Our Experience with House Cows

eBook - A Beginner's Guide to Backyard Chickens and Chicken Tractors

eBook - Advanced Natural Soapmaking Techniques

eBook - Grow Your Own Vegetables

Eat what you grow, or grow what you eat?
Most conventional vegetable garden planning advice says to "grow what you eat", to look in your fridge for ideas of w...
Book review: Modern Slow Cooker
I first bought a slow cooker after our first experience butchering a steer at home. Unfortunately, we didn't know tha...
Prickly Pear - weed or useful plant?
The Prickly Pear cactus (Opuntia genus) is native to southern USA, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and tropica...
Butchering Poultry
Last weekend we got up early and prepared for a morning of killing poultry, not my ideal Saturday morning, but the ti...
Cooking with the sun!
I can't remember when I first came across the idea of using a solar cooker. Maybe in Grass Roots magazine or a prepp...