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Nieve de garrafa de limón

Name: Nieve de garrafa de limón
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 8 limes; 220 g sugar; 900 ml water; 1 pinch salt; 3000 g ice; 300 g coarse rock salt

Lime water ice

Nieve de limón: hand-churned Mexican lime water ice made in a garrafa set in ice and salt

Features:

Vegetarian

Dairy free Low calorie

Cuisine:

Mexican

In town plazas from Oaxaca to Guadalajara, neveros still churn nieve de garrafa by spinning a tall metal can in a wooden barrel of ice and rock salt, scraping the frozen walls with a long paddle. Lime nieve is the sharpest and most refreshing, pale green from the zest, and it is eaten in small cups after a hot walk through the market. At home a metal bowl set in ice and salt works the same way. Chef's tip: add the zest at the start but strain it out; that way you get its oils without the bitterness.

Total time: 60 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 8

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Ingredients

Serves8

8 limes
8 oz sugar
3 ¾ cups water
1 pinch salt
6 ⅝ lb icefor the outer bowl
10 ½ oz coarse rock saltfor the outer bowl

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What you'll need

Ice cream maker

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (1)

limes

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Method

0/5 done

Step 1: Finely grate the zest of 4 8 limes, then squeeze all of them to get about 200 ml juice.
8 min
Step 2: Heat 8 oz sugar and 300 ml of the 1 ¼ cups water over a medium heat with the zest for 3 minutes until dissolved. Cool, then stir in the rest of the 2 ½ cups water, the lime juice and the 1 pinch salt and strain. Chill until very cold.
15 min
Step 3: Fill a large bowl with 6 ⅝ lb ice mixed with 10 ½ oz coarse rock salt and set a metal bowl or tin about 3 litres in size into it, with the ice coming up the sides.
5 min
Step 4: Pour in the lime mixture. Every minute or two, spin the bowl and scrape the frozen layer off the sides with a spatula into the middle. After 25–35 minutes it turns into soft, snowy sorbet. A common mistake is stirring too rarely, which leaves an ice block rather than fluffy nieve.
35 min
Step 5: Serve at once, or pack into a cold tub and freeze for up to an hour. An ice-cream machine also works: churn for 20–25 minutes.
2 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 110 kcal
Protein: 0 g
Carbs: 29 g
Fat: 0 g
Fibre: 0 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does nieve de garrafa de limón take?: About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegan?: Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
Is it gluten free?: Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
What can I use instead of limes?: Lemon, same amount.
What can I use instead of sugar?: Caster sugar, same amount.

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