Maple Granita Food

MAPLE-ORANGE GRANITA

Steps:

• Stir 2 tablespoons syrup and pinch of salt into juice. Transfer to a shallow 2-quart dish. Freeze 2 hours, scraping with a fork every 30 minutes (mixture should icy and fluffy).
• Stir together sour cream, remaining tablespoon syrup, pinch of salt, and cardamom if using. Divide among 4 bowls. Top with granita and orange segments.

GREEN APPLE-MINT GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes; transfer to a blender and let cool completely.
• Add the mint to the blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an 8-inch-square stainless-steel or glass baking dish. Finely grate the skin of the apple into the pan (you won't need the rest of the apple), then stir in the lime juice.
• Freeze until ice crystals begin forming around the edges, about 45 minutes. Use a fork to scrape the crystals toward the center of the pan, then continue freezing, scraping every 30 minutes, until frozen, about 4 hours.
• Avoid aluminum pans-they can react with the acidic ingredients and produce a metallic taste. Use stainless steel or glass instead.

MAPLE GRANITA

Steps:

• Whisk together water, maple syrup, ginger, lemon juice and sugar in a large saucepan.
• Place saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. REduce heat to medium and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and pour into a large 2 inch deep baking dish. Freeze for 4 hours or overnight.
• To serve scoop granita into chilled glasses and garnish with blueberries and fresh mint.

APPLESAUCE GRANITA WITH MAPLE YOGURT

Steps:

• For the Granita: In a shallow 8-inch square pan, stir the applesauce and lemon juice together and spread the mixture evenly in the pan. Place the pan in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
• For the Sauce: In a bowl, combine the yogurt, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Chill the sauce until ready to serve.
• Remove the granita from the freezer. With a fork, scrape the surface of the granita to gently fluff it up. Serve immediately, in dessert glasses or dishes, drizzled with yogurt sauce.

MAPLE CITRUS GRANITE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, mix water, sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, maple syrup and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until all the sugar has dissolved, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pot from the heat and let syrup cool completely. Add the lemon, orange zest, mint leaves, and pour into a shallow baking dish or plastic container and place in the freezer. (The 6 cup capacity shallow plastic containers with a lid that measure 6 inches by 10 inches by 2 inches deep, and which you can get in grocery stores would be ideal for the purpose.)
• Check after about 2 hours and stir the mixture. After about 4 hours, the mixture will have begun to set up, and you can score the surface by turning a spoon backwards and using the tip to scrape the frozen syrup into "ice curls." Repeat this scraping process periodically, every 2 hours or so, until all of the syrup is scraped into the consistency of water ice. Serve after 8 hours.