You do have to turn on the stove for this, but trust us when we say it’s worth it. The tart cherry juice and green tea make for a less sweet version of this summertime refresher.

What to buy: We used R.W. Knudsen’s Just Tart Cherry juice for this recipe and think you should too. You can find it in most gourmet or natural grocery stores. Just don’t use sweetened juice or fruit juice blends, as these will make the granité cloyingly sweet.

This recipe was featured in our Cooling Off story.

  • Yields: 8 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 30 mins, plus freezing time 
  • Active: 10 mins  

Ingredients (5)

  • 3 cups sour cherry juice, such as R.W. Knudsen’s
  • Juice of 1 medium lemon
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 green-tea bags, or 2 tablespoons loose green tea
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Instructions

  1. Bring cherry juice, lemon juice, and sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat.
  2. Stir in green tea and ginger; let steep for 15 minutes.
  3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a shallow glass baking dish and cool to room temperature. Freeze until mixture begins to get icy around the edges, about an hour. Rake through mixture with a fork to break up the ice.
  4. Return to the freezer and repeat until mixture is completely frozen and grainy, about 5 hours.

Note: If you like, you can freeze the granité into a solid block overnight, then rake it with a fork right before serving.

Beverage pairing: Patrick Bottex Vin du Bugey-Cerdon La Cueille, France. The fine crystaline structure of the granité demands something light, delicate, and sparkling. Bugey-Cerdon, a low-alcohol, pink-colored, sweet sparkler from France is just the ticket. Its gentle strawberry and cherry fruit flavors will find harmony in the sour cherries of the granité, while the green tea element will match with the leafy, earthy undertones of the wine.