Lemon Lime Italian Ice

This homemade lemon lime Italian ice is made with fresh citrus, so it's tart, sweet, and incredibly refreshing. It's the perfect summer treat!

If you've never had Italian ice before, it's basically a scoopable slushie, with a texture that's similar to, but lighter and airier than sorbet. If this sounds up your alley, then keep on reading!

The Perfect Frozen Summer Treat

Italian ice was brought to the Northeast US by Italian Immigrants who put their own spin a classic Sicilian granita, which is usually made by freezing fruit juice then scraping it into a fluffy, icy dessert.

We live in Michigan now, but my husband grew up on Long Island where Italian ice is the dessert of choice in the summer, and I never tried Italian ice until he introduced it to me. Now, New Yorkers can be a bit snobby about their food, but in this case, it's totally justified. This stuff is so good and so refreshing.

Our Italian ice is essentially a lemon-limeade base that's put into an ice cream maker and churned until frozen and fluffy. It only takes about 15 minutes to make the base, and then after chilling it down, it churns up in about another 15 minutes. After that, it's ready to enjoy!

Key Ingredients Needed for this Lemon Lime Italian Ice

How to Make this Italian Ice

1. Zest your lemons and limes (it should take about 2 lemons and 3-4 limes) and then juice them.
2. In a small mixing bowl or on a plate, combine the sugar and the zest, massaging them together with your fingers to help release the oils in the zest.

3. To a medium-sized saucepan over medium low heat, add the zest and sugar mixture, lemon and lime juice, and water and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let the zest steep in the hot mixture for 20-30 minutes, then strain out the zest and move the Italian ice base to the refrigerator.

4. Let it chill until cold - 8 hours or overnight, then add it to your ice cream maker and churn until the Italian ice is no longer wet and slushy - time will vary depending on your ice cream maker.

5. Enjoy right away or freeze to eat later - just be sure to give it 10-15 minutes to soften up before scooping.

Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!

• Storage: Kept frozen in an airtight container, this Italian ice can be enjoyed within 3-6 months. Just be sure to let it thaw out slightly before scooping.
• Serving: You can enjoy this right away once it's out of the ice cream maker. Traditionally, it's served in paper cups like you see below, but it's also super cute in a hollowed-out lemon for entertaining, or straight out of the container.
• Make sure you zest your citrus before juicing.
• Be sure to let the base chill overnight before putting it in your ice cream maker, or else it will take significantly longer to churn, and depending on your model, might not work.
• Churning times will vary depending on your ice cream maker. We know ours is done when the ice cream maker is no longer spinning the Italian ice and it's just kind of stuck as a frozen block while the maker spins around it.

More Frozen Desserts You'll Love

We can't wait for you to make this Italian ice in your own home! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!

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