Watermelon Sno-Cones

SONY DSC
SONY DSC

Whether you call this a sno-cone or a granita depends on who’s eating it.

I don’t know about you, but my interest in a watermelon generally lasts until about halfway through it. Especially if it’s big, and especially if it’s woody and pulpy, in which case I vow to return it to the store, but never do.

In the past I’ve made watermelon lemonade, which is just fine. I always intend to make watermelon margaritas, but have yet to. This summer, however, I discovered that if you puree a watermelon (chunk it and blitz in the food processor – because it’s mostly water, it pulverizes effortlessly) and freeze it, you can scrape it with a fork to make pure-fruit watermelon sno-cones; known among fancy-food eaters as granitas.

Honestly, nothing could be easier than a granita. Freeze fruit puree, or fruit juice, scrape it with a fork so that you get a sort of crystalline snow, and voila. In midwinter, I have been known to leave half a latte in the car, then scrape it out and call it espresso granita.

I made a batch with cherries and watermelon, and a batch with a splash of prosecco. (This version would be granita, obviously, rather than sno-cone.) Not many recipes are so easily played with. Just remember this one rule: if it freezes, you can make a granita out of it.

But watermelon, straight up, makes a mighty fine sno-cone, without any need for day-glo syrup.

One Year Ago: Chocolate Éclairs with Espresso Mascarpone Cream

Share

About Julie

You May Also Like

10 comments on “Watermelon Sno-Cones

  1. pauline
    August 31, 2009 at 1:19 pm

    What a good idea Julie. I too keep saying I am going to take fruit back when it is really bad and never do. Cantaloupe is a prime example when its pale and totally tasteless and cost a few dollars. They are super good right now though.

  2. Aimee
    August 31, 2009 at 5:22 pm

    Two words: Watermelon Sangria.

    Amazing.

  3. Amy Green - Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
    August 31, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    I love watermelon granita but I usually end up throwing it in the food processor so it’s nice and smooth. I like it better that way.

  4. thepinkpeppercorn
    September 1, 2009 at 4:13 am

    mmmm delicious! And so refreshing! I am so glad the weather is still nice to enjoy treats like this without frost on the ground.

  5. Charmian Christie
    September 1, 2009 at 4:42 am

    Oooh, wonderful. I stopped buying watermelon because we ended up tossing so much of it. Great solution.

  6. Manon from Ontario
    September 1, 2009 at 5:18 am

    Hey Julie!

    I made the same this summer, but froze the watermelon puree in ice cube containers. The kids loved to pop them into their mouths.

    Thanks for sharing 🙂

    MFO

  7. Mar Hein
    September 1, 2009 at 9:17 am

    when you bring a watermelon home-always put it in a cooler with cold water (& an ice pack) for about a day-this makes any watermelon taste delicious & then there is no woody & pulpy taste. if you have it longer than a day uncut-just put in another frozen ice pack to keep the water cold. throw the water afterwards onto your lawn. 🙂 waste not, want not!!

  8. Melanie
    September 1, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Excellent. A solution for the huge watermelon on my counter! Can’t wait to surprise the kids!

  9. Barb
    September 1, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    I did this once with an abundance of rhubarb I had juiced. It was refreshing, too.

  10. Jenn
    September 2, 2009 at 6:00 pm

    Julie,

    If you could help me with this, I would be super grateful!!

    I need to learn to cook things that are healthy and quick to prepare and easy (and possibly can be frozen)@ Can you recommend a good cookbook with such recipes?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.