by Sasha Marx
Would a Negroni cocktail (equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari) top your list of items you’d bring to a desert island? Would you choose radicchio over butter lettuce any day of the week? If you answer “yes” to these questions, you have a bitter tooth, and this granita is for you. Of all the recipes we’ve developed in my time at Cook’s Science, this granita produced the most divided opinions at team tastings (read more about it here). I was really excited about taking the sour kvass left over from my Fermented Beets and pairing it with bitter Campari for a refreshing granita that could serve as a palate cleanser or light dessert. But the sour-salty-bitter-savory combination proved a little too intense and aggressive to garner mass appeal. So I decided to balance those elements by adding orange juice, which contributed sweetness and a citrus aroma that helped counter the bitterness. The combination reminded us of a Negroni, and no one could argue with that.
Photography by Steve Klise
| 250 g | beet kvass |
| 32 g | orange juice |
| 32 g | sugar |
| 30 g | Campari |
| 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons beet kvass |
| 2 tablespoons orange juice |
| 2 tablespoons sugar |
| 2 tablespoons Campari |