Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Beat the heat with Italian Flavored Ice

Happy end of spring semester! Tomorrow is the last day of finals at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and what better way to celebrate than with a cool and refreshing treat to kick off summer, Italian Flavored Ice, from Recipes: The Cooking of Italy, Foods of the World, Time-Life Books, New York, TX723.R552 1972.  We have a variety of the Food of the World cookbooks located in the UW-Stout Archives Special Collections that feature recipes from a certain country or region. Discover more information about these cookbooks here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foods_of_the_World

Recipes: The Cooking of Italy cookbook, 1972


I had the chance to travel to Italy and Greece over the 2007-2008 New Year’s Holiday as part of the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Marching Band. We traveled for 10 days and performed in Rome and Florence, Italy, and Athens, Greece. It was a great experience and besides trying new foods, such as gelato and baklava, and touring the cities, my favorite part was performing in St. Peter’s Square for the Pope on New Year’s Day.  

BMB in St. Peter's Square on New Year's Day

Florence, Italy



Flavored Ice recipe card


The was an easy dessert to make and is cool and refreshing on a warm day. I tried the Lemon Ice. I chose to pour the mixture into an ice-cube tray with the dividers and freeze the lemon ice solid. It seemed easier than pouring it into a different container and scraping the sides every 30 minutes. After the ice was frozen I popped out a few cubes and crushed them in my Magic Bullet. The lemon ice tastes similar to lemonade but is less intense, but it is still sweet. It is good topped with a couple strawberry slices. This dessert is similar to eating a shaved ice sno-cone. Bon Appetit!

Lemon Ice ingredients, ice-cube tray, magic bullet to crush ice

Boiling the water and sugar on the stovetop

The frozen lemon ice

Lemon ice after being crushed in magic bullet



Here are 2 step-by-step tutorials to start you on your cooking journey:  https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/italian-ice-recipe-1973230

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Italian-Ice

By: Julie Hatfield, Archives Assistant, UW-Stout Archives