It started with buying frozen lemonade and enjoying it so much I wanted to make it. Lime is very cheap in the summer and I knew that I can easily this. This was easier than a granita! So I tried it, and it was so successful, that when we bought too large a watermelon, I decided to make watermelon ice too. And that too was goooood. And now, we have an abundance of not so good mangoes (getting soft, but not really as sweet). And I was thinking of different ways to salvage it, when I landed on, Mango Italian Ice!
The mango here in the US that we buy is the red big ones. They do sell Manila mangoes here, but it’s usually three times the price of the red ones, and about half the size of the ones I buy in Manila. So no, it’s fine to have the red ones. But this is pulpier than I am used to, so I know that the ice will be creamier. Almost like a slushie.
I basically followed the recipe online, which starts by making a sugar syrup, of equal parts sugar and syrup, then pureeing the pulp of two whole mangoes (I used more) with the syrup, with a touch of lime/lemon and salt. Freeze. I do mix it every few hours to make it soft. And that was it. I did the same thing for the watermelon (using about 2 to 3 cups of watermelon), and lime (used about 10 pieces of lime for both the juice and zest).
So now that I know how to do this and how easy it is, I may move on to gelato 🙂
Mango Italian Ice Recipe
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 to 3 whole mango meat/pulp
pinch of salt
half a lime/lemon
Cook the sugar and water until all the sugar has melted. In a blender or food processor, put in the all the mango, salt and lime or lemon juice. Blend. Add the sugar syrup (you can add less, if you find it too sweet which I did). But remember that freezing it will make the flavors less present (less sweet, less salty, etc.). Once you are happy with the flavors, place in a freezer safe container and freeze. Mix every few hours to stop it from hardening. Serve after 24 hours. 🙂
Domestic Urbanite 