Cut open two grapefruits.
Juice them.
Mix in some sugar, about 1/3rd of a cup, and some boiling water: about 1/4 a cup (to taste.) Pour into a baking pan.
Put in the freezer.
Freeze for a few hours.
Then scrape with a fork:
Serve in a wine glass, a short glass, or even a paper cup. The choice is yours. You will be happy, nonetheless.
Comments (19)
i done a similar thingy but with watermelon
Posted by foodcrazee | February 28, 2006 4:45 AM
So when do you add the vodka?
:)
Posted by Linda | February 28, 2006 7:41 AM
strange, today in my writing class i heard about a palate cleanser served at a restaurant in sydney... and it was grapefruit granita. i suppose all the cool kids are having grapefruit granitas!
Posted by saffron | February 28, 2006 8:21 AM
Butbutbut... it's raining amd wet and cold.
and a little side note - it's "cut", not "cup", dear, in your first sentence.
:)
Posted by Nina | February 28, 2006 9:38 AM
So simple, yet so satisfying-looking. I have to try it soon, and I agree about adding a touch of liquer... when does that happen?
Posted by Hanna | February 28, 2006 9:39 AM
Would the alcohol preven the granita from freezing properly though?
Posted by mike | February 28, 2006 10:26 AM
Simple, yet elegant and refreshing! Does anyone know why the boiling water is necessary? Is it merely to dilute the grapefruit juice and, if so, why? Also, I think the vodka would not impede the grapefruit from freezing as long as one does not use too much vodka.
Posted by Dave | February 28, 2006 11:48 AM
hahaha
What a funny and charming post!
Posted by Amanda K | February 28, 2006 12:23 PM
Why not add the vodka at the end? Use the granita as more of a flavored ice cube?
Posted by Declan | February 28, 2006 1:10 PM
Thanks... very interesting and not boring at all!
Posted by Paulo | February 28, 2006 1:44 PM
I have had something similar to this (lime-mango granita) at a restaurant in Banff, Canada (The Banffshire at the Banff Springs hotel) as a palate cleanser - it was fabulous! I'll totally have to try this.
Posted by Devlyn | February 28, 2006 1:53 PM
Does anyone else have the Foreigner song Cold as Ice running in their head after reading Adam's title of the post?
Posted by Jen | February 28, 2006 4:39 PM
Jen--yes :(
Posted by Kate | February 28, 2006 5:17 PM
yep.... you're as coooooooold as ice! and willing to sacrifice our love...doo doo dooooo.
(sorry)
Posted by zeep | February 28, 2006 11:21 PM
Don't cry for me, my Granita!
Posted by Joel | March 1, 2006 12:38 PM
Sounds like a good recipe to try! But thinking of the sound of a fork scraping ice runs chills down my spine, like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Posted by cheesefairy | March 1, 2006 3:06 PM
Very cool photo recipe! One suggestion, via the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Rather than use a fork to scrape the ice, try using a pastry scraper. They don't smush the ice as much, it's quicker too.
I made one two weekends ago using blood orange juice. Yum.
Posted by Chris | March 1, 2006 5:35 PM
You have to boil the water so that the sugar can dissolve, that way when the table sugar and the grapefruit sugars get together, they can crystalize together and not separatly.
Posted by monicajo | March 1, 2006 7:06 PM
Boiling water is used because...
once boiled water freezes "better" than tap water (and with the Mpemba Effect can actually freeze faster). Hot water helps to dissolve the sugar too (as previously mentioned).
We cite:
* "Hot water freezes faster than cold water. Why does it do so?", Jearl Walker in The Amateur Scientist, Scientific American, Vol. 237, No. 3; September, 1977.
* "The Freezing of Hot and Cold Water", G.S. Kell in American Journal of Physics, Vol. 37, No. 5; May, 1969.
Or, we can just ask Alton.
Posted by willson | March 2, 2006 4:54 AM