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By Root 1320 0

(if they somehow get pregnant without the male pollen) because the people of Tucson become very cross when ripe mulberries fall on their parked cars, splattering them with crimson. I am making plans to sue the Tucson allergy and parking lobbies for keeping me from my gelsi neri. But for now, I turned to wild strawberries and quickly found an importer of costly but excellent fraises des bois flown in from Périgord. I can still taste and smell the results.

½ pound of black mulberries or fragoline (wild strawberries, known in France as fraises des bois; see Note)

2 cups spring water (see Note)

½ cup superfine granulated sugar

Juice of ½ lemon

Puree the black mulberries or fragoline in a food processor. You will need ⅔ cup of puree. Scrape into a bowl and mix well with the other ingredients. Pass the mixture through a strainer coarse enough to let through just a few seeds and a little fruit pulp. Cover, chill, and freeze.

Note: Black mulberries are available from Oregon in the summer. A small quantity of fraises des bois is grown in the United States; excellent imports from France can be purchased from the Mushroom Man in Los Angeles, (800) 945-3404, and are available from May to October. Do not use either unless they are completely red, juicy, and full of aroma.

I have tried a similar recipe calling for 3 cups of water instead of 2. Though less intense in flavor than Caffè Sicilia’s version, it was more transparent and refreshing. Though once I pursued intensity as the ultimate goal of granitas, I have found that added water increases the crunchiness of the ice crystals and gives you another, more panoramic, vantage point on the flavor—like stepping back from a painting.

Espresso Granita from the Isle of Salina

24 fluid ounces espresso lungo

1 scant cup granulated sugar

A “long” espresso contains more water than usual. In an espresso machine, you will need to make 7 or 8 cups of espresso. Each time, use one dose of coffee (7 grams, or 1½ tablespoons), but a larger cup, and let the hot water run through the espresso until you have 3 to 3½ fluid ounces (6 or 7 tablespoons, or a scant half cup). Pour into a 1-quart measuring cup and repeat until you have 24 fluid ounces, or 3 full cups. With a drip machine, substitute dark-roasted espresso coffee for your usual brand and triple the amount of coffee you would ordinarily use to obtain 3 full cups.

Let the espresso or drip coffee cool for 15 minutes in a 2-quart bowl. Stir in the sugar. Cover, chill, and freeze.

Chocolate Granita from Catania

None of the chocolate granitas we sampled on the way to the Catania airport was perfect, but back home in New York a few days later, with guidance from Luca Caviezel’s Scienza e tecnologia del gelato artigianale (Caviezel was a Catanian pastry chef renowned for his ice creams), I was able to turn the recipes I had collected into a good granita that includes a little milk.

1½ ounces “Dutch-process” cocoa (? cup very densely packed or ¾ cup very lightly spooned)

2¾ cups water

¾ cup superfine granulated sugar

½ cup whole milk

Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)

Sift the cocoa into the water in a pan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, lower the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent burning. Pour and scrape into a 2-quart bowl and let cool for 30 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add the milk and stir well. Add the cinnamon if that taste pleases you. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Then proceed to turn the liquid into a granita by following one of the methods explained on this page–this page.

And if you would like to convert your granita into a famed eighteenth-century treat known as chocolate in garapegra, a “holy and noble elixir of fresh life,” add vanilla, orange zest, and a few drops of distilled jasmine.

June 1996

Hauts Bistros

With a napkin of creamy starched linen, my wife wiped some wild mushrooms and a crepinette of lamb from her chiseled chin, gulped down a half glass