Granizado De Limón

Granizado de limón are our constant companion during the hot summers in Spain. You might know it as slushy, although granizado usually comes only in lemon and coffee flavor, and also orxata in Valencia.

I think the reason why granizado is so popular in Spain is because as much as I love ice-cream, granizado cools you much better.

You can buy it in the usual ice-cream parlors or even in grocery stores but we prefer to make our own at home. And honestly, with the amount we drink every summer, it's way cheaper making it at home!

You can use any fruit you like but in my opinion, citrus flavor is the best.

Here is the amount of ingredients for a small portion of granizado, is makes about 2 medium glasses. Just double or triple the amounts if you want more.

You will need:

1. 500 l/17 oz of water
2. 2 medium lemons
3. 4 tbsp of caster sugar
4. food processor or stand mixer
5. freezing container

Wash the lemon thoroughly, unless you're using bio lemons.

Grate the lemon zest from both lemons but only the yellow part, the white part would make the drink too bitter. You can also skip the lemon zest completely.

Squeeze the juice from both lemons.

In a bowl, combine water, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the mixture into a container that can go into the freezer, I recommend a large shallow plastic container, the mixture will freeze faster and more evenly.

Put it in the fridge and let it freeze completely.

There is an ideal consistency for this, its when the mixture is frozen and when you push with your finger, it won't come apart easy like ice-cream but the frozen mixture is kind of crunchy and you might actually go through the upper layer. How long that takes depends on the container you use and the amount you make. For the amount given and using a large and shallow container, it takes 2,5 - 3 hours in my freezer.

However, if your mixture is frozen absolutely solid, don't worry, just let it stand at room temperature for a few minutes until you see you can break it with a knife relatively easily (see next line).

Break the mixture into smaller pieces with a dull knife.

Place the pieces into your food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve in a glass with a straw.