This blood orange granita has just three ingredients: fresh blood oranges, sugar and a few sprigs of tarragon. Frozen and scraped into delicate ice crystals, it's a bright, refreshing Italian dessert with a subtle tarragon herbal note.
What is Granita?
Granita is a traditional Italian frozen dessert made from fruit juice, sugar, and water. It is scraped into ice crystals with a fork and often served as a refreshing breakfast in the summer months. It is very easy to make and tastes wonderful.
The texture of Granita is coarse and crystalline, unlike sorbet, which is creamy. The Granita is scraped with a fork about every 60 minutes during freezing, thus creating its signature texture.
You can make Granita with a wide variety of ingredients for the main flavour, such as other citrus flavours like lemon, other fruit flavours like watermelon or mango, or even coffee flavour.
Granita is naturally dairy-free and so simple to make, but it will always be a hit.
What is the difference between Granita, Sorbet and Ice cream?
Granita, sorbet and ice cream are all frozen desserts, but differ in texture and technique. Granita is frozen and scraped into flaky ice crystals. Churning gives sorbet its smooth, scoopable texture without adding dairy. Ice cream is churned with milk or cream (or non-dairy substitutes), making it rich and creamy.
| Feature | Granita | Sorbet | Ice Cream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Sicily, Italy | Italy, France | Europe |
| Main Ingredients | Fruit juice, sugar, water | Fruit Puree or juice, sugar | Milk or cream (or non dairy substitute), sugar |
| Texture | Icy, flaky, crystalline | Smooth, fine, scoopable | Creamy, rich, soft |
| Dairy? | No | No | Yes (but non-dairy possible) |
| Churned? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fat Content | None | None | High |
| Mouthfeel | Refreshing | Silky | Luxurious |
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Key Ingredients and Notes
- Blood oranges - blood oranges are less acidic and sweeter than oranges and have a distinct red coloured flesh.
- Castor Sugar - Castor sugar is finer-grained sugar, so it dissolves quickly.
- Tarragon - Tarragon gives an aniseed flavour to this blood orange granita.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Blood Orange Granita
- Scrub and wash the blood oranges thoroughly.
- Wash the Tarragon.
- Zest the oranges, using a microplane.
- In a shallow, freezer-safe tray, add the sugar and the orange zest.
- Cut the blood oranges in half.
- Over a bowl, remove the orange flesh. Keep the orange peel halves to use to serve the Granita in.
- Extract the juice of the blood oranges by pressing the flesh through a sieve.
- Transfer the juice to the shallow dish containing the sugar and zest, and mix thoroughly until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove the tarragon leaves from the stems and add to the dish.
- Transfer the dish to the freezer for 90 minutes.
- After 90 minutes, remove from the freezer and using a fork, scrape the surface to create ice crystals. Transfer back to the freezer for 90 minutes.
- After 90 minutes, again remove and scrape with a fork.
- Do this freezing-and-scraping step one more time.
- Return to the freezer for 1 more hour.
- The Granita is ready to eat. It should look like the Granita shown in this photograph.
- Immediately serve the Granita in the orange skins.
Substitutions
You can replace the sugar with honey. The amount of honey you add depends on your taste, so taste-test as you go. The texture will be affected because caster sugar significantly influences it.
Don't have tarragon? Add a pinch of fennel powder.
Variations
Any fruit juice can be used to make Granita; you'll need to adjust the sugar for each fruit, as each has different sugar and sweetness levels.
Equipment
- Microplane to zest the blood oranges
- A shallow, freezer-proof dish to freeze the Granita
- Fork to form the granita crystalline texture.
- Use digital scales to get an accurate measurement.
Storage
It is best to use up the Granita within 3 to 4 days. However, it keeps well in the freezer for up to three months. Eating within 3 days ensures the texture remains nicely flaky. After a week, the texture becomes coarser and more solid. Store in a shallow container so it is easy to scrape back to a nice crystalline texture before serving.
Chefs Tip
- Taste before freezing and make it slightly sweeter than you'd normally prefer. Freezing dulls the sweetness.
- Use a sieve to extract the juice from the flesh so that the Granita has a delicate crystalline finish. You can also use a juicer or blender, then remove the seeds and pass the mixture through a sieve. If you're not using orange skins for serving, you can squeeze the cut oranges through a juicer.
- Bruise the tarragon slightly before adding it to the Granita. Bruising helps release its flavours.
- Use a wide, shallow dish for freezing so scraping is easier and the crystalline structure is finer.
- Scrape regularly to form fine crystals. With each scrape, the mixture freezes further until the entire dish becomes light and crystalline.
- If the Granita has been in the freezer for a few days, refresh it by scraping it with a fork before serving.
- Serve in chilled orange skin or in chilled glasses to help maintain the texture for longer.
- I based the freezing times on my home freezer and the storage container I used. If you put the Granita in a metal container, it will freeze faster. Also, if your container is larger, the Granita will have a larger surface area and freeze faster. It will also depend on your home freezer. Ninety minutes is a guideline based on my freezer; you may need to adjust it based on your situation.
FAQ
No. Granita is very simple to make and requires minimal equipment. Granita does not require churning, so an ice cream machine is not required. All you need is patience while it freezes, and you create the signature ice flakes with a fork.
Technically, yes, but the flavour and texture will suffer. Granita relies on sugar for structure. Without it, the Granita would freeze into a solid lump and not be very scrappable. It directly affects the texture - too much and the Granita will be too slushy; not enough and it will freeze too hard.
Yes, you can. You may have to freeze longer before scraping for the first time. Boozy granita ideas include Prosecco, Aperol or even Grand Marnier. Just add to your taste.
📖 Recipe
Blood Orange & Tarragon Granita
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Freezer safe tray/container
- Microplane
Ingredients
- 850 g Blood Oranges 6 blood oranges
- 100 g Sugar
- 3 sprigs Tarragon
Instructions
- Scrub the oranges thoroughly.
- Wash and pat dry tarragon.
- In a freezer-safe tray, add the sugar and zest the oranges over it.
- Cut the blood oranges in half.
- Over a bowl, remove the orange flesh and keep the intact peel. We will use the peel to serve the granita in.
- Extract the juice of the blood oranges by passing the fruit flesh through a sieve. You should have about 400 ml of juice.
- Transfer the juice into the tray with the sugar and zest, and mix vigorously, until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove the tarragon leaves from the stem and add them to the juice and sugar mix.
- Transfer to the freezer for 90 minutes. Once the top layer is frozen, use a fork to scrape the surface. This is to create little crystals. Transfer back into the freezer for a further 90 minutes. Repeat this process one more time: scrape the top and return it to the freezer.
- After you have completed this scraping-and-freezing process 3 times, or once you have reached the desired texture. Return to the freezer for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, the granita should be ready for serving. Transfer into the empty orange skins and serve immediately.
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Food Safety
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food.
- Wipe down countertops and high-contact points regularly.
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours).
- Store food correctly.
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