5 Homemade Slushies To Cool You Down In Summer

Within the family of ice creams, slushies are the easiest ice creams to make. To make them, it is enough to grind ice with the flavors that we want.

The advantage of slushies is that they are very cool and hydrate a lot, since most of their composition is water. Its texture is like that of curdled snow, which can be achieved without special machines, only with homemade utensils. You can have them ready in an afternoon and they can go a long way if you make a good amount.

Although the commercials are nothing more than ice and syrup, at home we can make much healthier slushies with fresh fruits and use them as desserts and snacks. In addition, this way we can take advantage of loose fruits that we have in the fridge and create slushies of various flavors with little effort.

How to prepare homemade slushies

To prepare a good granita we will need fruits that we like and that are in season. For example watermelon, melon, cherries, red fruits, apricots, nectarines, pears …

The higher the water content of the fruit (such as watermelon), the less water we will have to add.

Preparation

1. First wash the fruits that you want to use for your granita.
2. Remove the bone or the seeds, chop them and beat them with the mixer until you get a puree.
3. Add water and beat again to mix.
4. Put the crushed fruit in a freezer container and freeze for 2 hours. Then take it out every half hour and stir it, breaking up any large blocks of ice that have formed.
5. After about 4-6 hours, you will have a slush ready to eat.
6. Consume it once done.
7. To save it simply freeze it. Then you can chop it again by leaving it in the fridge for an hour or two so that the ice melts a little.

Alternatives

Another option is to mix the fruits with water and ice cubes to obtain an instant slush:

1. Wash the fruit you are going to use and remove the pit or seeds.
2. Cut it into medium pieces, put it in a freezer bag or suitable container and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours.
3. Put it in the blender along with ice and a pinch of water and beat it until you get a snow smoothie.
4. Serve the slush immediately.

Let’s see it with examples of specific fruits:

Watermelon frozen

Ingredients

• 1 kg of watermelon without seeds
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 1 cup of water

Preparation

1. Cut the watermelon into pieces and beat it with the mixer together with the lemon zest and water.
2. Transfer the mixture to a freezer-safe container and put it in the freezer.
3. After 2 hours, stir it well, breaking the large ice crystals that have formed.
4. Repeat the operation every 2 hours until it has the consistency you want (it will be a few hours in total).
5. Serve it very cool.

Instant watermelon slush

Ingredients

• 1 kg of watermelon without seeds
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 1 cup ice cubes
• ½ cup of very cold water

Preparation

1. First cut the watermelon into small cubes and freeze it for at least 4 hours.
2. Transfer the frozen watermelon along with the rest of the ingredients to a blender and beat everything together until it forms an ice puree.
3. Serve immediately

Banana granita

Ingredients

• 3 bananas
• 2 cups of water

Preparation

1. Peel and chop the bananas. Beat them in the mixer together with the water until a homogeneous liquid forms.
2. Put it in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for 2 hours.
3. Take it out and stir it well, breaking any ice crystals that form.
4. Repeat the operation every hour until it has the consistency of a granita.
5. Serve immediately.

Instant banana granita

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 2 cups ice cubes

Preparation

1. Chop the banana and freeze it for at least 4 hours.
2. Put both the banana pieces and the ice in the blender and beat it until it becomes snow. If necessary add some more ice.
3. Serve immediately.

Instant date slushie

Ingredients

• 10 dates
• 2 cups ice cubes

Preparation

1. Remove the pit from the dates and let them soak for at least ½ hour.
2. Crush the ice with the blender (if you have an ice crushing accessory, much better) until snow forms. Put the ice in a couple of serving bowls.
3. Beat the dates with ½ cup of water until a smooth syrup forms.
4. Pour the syrup over the bowls