ORANCE ICE (& ORANGEADE)

This is another recipe from Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (1891) by Pellegrino Artusi that falls into the category of water ice (=sorbet or, better yet, granita). Oranges are naturally sweet, resulting in gelato not half so exciting as the one you make with lemon - which is undoubtedly the king of frozen delights. Luckily, most versions of water ice use added lemon juice and this one is no exception.

 

Valencia, Spain in 1832 by French lithographer Alfred Guesdon

 

 

There are many kinds of orange that could be used for icecream but since you only need the juice, it's perfectly all right to go for second-rate. Living in a Mediterranean country, I've access to Valencia. This is a cultivar developed in the first half of the nineteenth century and named after Valencia, the Spanish city. The man behind this is William Wolfskill (1798-1866) from Kentucky, who moved to California in the 1820s. Wolfskill became a Mexican citizen since California was a part of Mexico at the time, and purchased land near Santa Ana. He grew vines and citrus fruits and became the most important wine maker of the region. At some point, William (in partnership with his brother John) hybridized the Valencia orange. Before his death, he sold the patent to the Irvine Ranch owners and the rest belongs to history. Today Valencia oranges are successfully grown in California but the variety was also introduced to the Mediterranean countries. People usually buy them for making juice and store-bought can sometimes taste plain - that's what I meant by 'second-rate'. Properly grown (i.e. organic and not watered too much), Valencia oranges are some of the loveliest fruits you've ever had.

 

 

 

ORANGE ICE (GELATO DI ARANCIA)

The recipe below is Pellegrino Artusi's orange ice doubled - with a bit less sugar. Instead of counting liters and deciliters, the Italian author gave the number of fruits you have to squeeze. This is often a problem because the size of fruit today is different from what it used to be. For this particular version, I used 4x2 medium-sized oranges and 1x2 big lemons - all of them freshly picked from my garden.

I n g r e d i e n t s 

500g caster sugar

1lt water

600ml orange juice

100ml lemon juice

 

M e t h o d

Bring the sugar and 1 cup of water to the boil. Stir well, then mix with the fruit juices and the remaining water. Divide between two shallow plastic containers. Leave to cool, then refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight. The next day, place the containers in the freezer. Stir thoroughly every 30 minutes, repeating the process 3 times. Transfer to a large plastic container, if liked.

 

V a r i a t i o n

The mixture can also be served as a drink. It's wonderfully refreshing and keeps longer than fresh orange juice - because of the sugar. All you need is 2-3 sterilized bottles. However, the drink is too sweet for the palate so it's a good idea to use a tiny amount diluted in cold water.