Want to learn how to make some Italian ice at home? Read on to find out how you can prepare Italian ice at home to beat the heat whenever things get too hot.
There is nobody that would not enjoy a nice cold glass of lemonade to beat the heat on a hot summer day. Gulping down some Italian ice however is an even better way to beat the heat during those long hot summers. Italian ice is one of the best dessert items to have originated out of Italy. The origins of this age long tradition can be traced back to the Arabs who used to make their own drink known as the sharbat with mountain snow and fruits. The Italians got a taste of the slush like drink from there and made it into one of their own things. Italian granita is the localized rendition of the Arab Sharbat. Anyhow Italian ice has become very famous on a global scale and people love to chill out with this easy to make dessert item.
Making Italian ice
Making Italian ice is relatively easy and it can be achieved at home. Today many new and improved Italian ice machines have been developed that make the whole job much easier for you. Rest assured it is pretty much possible to make Italian ice without the use of an ice machine. As far as the ingredients are concerned you will need water, sugar, lemon juice, egg whites and berries. Some regions in Italy would also use white wine in the preparation of Italian ice and the others would do without it. Hence the use of white wine is no hard and fast rule in the making of Italian ice.
The process should go underway by mixing together some sugar and water and bringing to boil over the stove. Make sure to dissolve all the sugar into the water. Once it has reached the boiling point cover it up and let it boil for one more minute. Now remove the cover and lower the heat source while allowing it to simmer for ten more minutes. After doing so you will need to cool the liquid in the refrigerator till about an hour. Once cooled take it out and add the lemon juice while quickly stirring the mixture to break up the ice crystals. Now place the contents in the freezer till they become firm but not solid.
Meanwhile place an empty glass bowl in the freezer to chill. Now you will have to blend two egg whites till stiff peaks form. You can use the blender to do this job. Now take out the frozen contents and place them in the chilled bowl adding the egg whites and mix them properly. Now put them in the cake pan again and freeze them for another half an hour. Mix it once with a fork and then let it be in the freezer for the next three hours. The best way to serve Italian ice is to have pre-cooled serving bowls and you can just scoop out the Italian ice into the bowls. Top them off with some berries and there you have it, some delicious home made Italian ice.
