subject: The In-thing Known As Italian Ice [print this page] "Are your taste buds dying to taste something new? Ever had Italian ice? It's not ice cream, just ice. Perhaps you haven't heard of it before or maybe you've heard of it but, until now, you still never could get the chance to taste it. Maybe now is the time.
Italian ice is a frozen dessert made from either concentrated syrup flavoring or fruit purees. In the some areas such as Philadelphia, it is better known as water ice. There are many different recipes for making this dessert but basically they are all the same. The main difference between them are their flavors.
It is actually very easy to make this dessert. As long as you have a freezer, you're good to go. The basic ingredients used to make it are water, sugar and the desired flavoring or fruit juice. There are many different flavors to choose from but the more common ones are cherry, coconut, champagne, chocolate, strawberry, and lemon. It really depends on your taste. You could experiment with different flavors to find which ones you like the best.
The ratio of the ingredients are 4 cups of clean water to 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of juice of any flavor you may desire. You could adjust the ratio according to taste. Usually, for orange, lemon, or pineapple flavors, more sugar is added.
This procedure is quite simple. The first thing that you should do is to mix sugar and water and then boil them on a pot. Slowly stir the mixture constantly until you see crystals forming and the sugar is dissolved completely. After that let the mixture cool down before you add your desire flavor and then stir it. Pour down the mixture into a container and pop it in the freezer for approximately 4 hours. For this duration, check it and stir it occasionally until it is frozen completely and ready to be scooped.
To make this dessert more exciting, you could add toppings or garnishes of slices of fresh fruits such as lemons or strawberries.
Italian ice serves a variety of functions. It can be used to cleanse the palate between meals, provide cool and refreshing relief during hot and humid weather and serve as a light and tasty dessert which you could enjoy by yourself or together with family and friends.
