Guayaba y Limón

When it’s warm, I miss the cold and when it’s cold I miss the warmth, though I miss my Snoopy sno-cone machine more than both combined. This weekend I tired out different granizado recipes for a Devour post armed with little more than a metal pan and a fork. I never get the results I want from my ice maker and there are worse places to spend a boiling New York summer day than half in the freezer. Loading up on guava, passion fruit, and mango pulp from a nearby market, I headed home and started mixing.

The passion fruit on its own was a little sour but combined with mango it came alive. The guava though was disappointing. Thicky and creamy with a slightly grainy texture, I added too much water then overcompensated with lime juice and zest only to get a freezing lime slushy with a pink finish. Needless to say, I went with the mango-passion fruit combo instead.

My post completed, I still had some guava pulp left so I decided to try again, using less lime and just the simple syrup to sweeten. I thought the graininess of the guava would work better as a paleta and was about commit it all to the molds when I split it up at the last moment – half went into the popscicles and the other half into a shallow baking pan to chill and shave off for a granizado. In either variation, both flavors were present, neither watered down or sweetened beyond recognition, just guayaba and limón, ice cold with tropical warmth.

Granizado de Guayaba y Limón/Paletas de Guayaba y Limón

2 cups guava pulp, fresh or frozen*
¾ cups sugar
¾ cups water
1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice to taste
Zest of one lime

9x13x2 inch metal or glass baking pan or 6 popscicle molds

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Set aside and cool to room temperature. Using a blender, pulse guava pulp until smooth. Add cooled syrup, a little at time, until sweetened to taste. Please note that it will lose some of its sweetness when it’s completely frozen. Blend in the lime zest and lime juice, also to taste.

To make granizados: Pour into a shallow metal or glass baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to set in the coldest part of your freezer for about one hour . Using a fork, scrape the ice crystals that have formed into the center of the pan, mashing and blending them in as you go.  Cover and return to the freezer.  Repeat every 30 minutes or so until uniformly frozen about 2-3 hours depending on your freezer.  Serve immediately or cover tightly and freeze overnight. When ready to serve, use a fork to shave off ice crystals and scoop into dessert glasses. Makes 6 servings.

To make paletas: Pour into the molds. The mixture will expand in the freezer so leave about a 1/4″ of room at the top if lidded. Freeze for at least two hours before serving.  If you have any difficulty un-molding, run the mold briefly under warm water. Makes 6 popsicles.