Cucumber & Tremella Granita

A Sicilian-style granita for hot days and hydrated cells

When the heat hits, the body is asking for water, minerals, and relief. This cucumber granita is our answer: icy, aromatic, lightly sweet, and deeply hydrating.

Inspired by Sicilian granita, but reimagined through a functional, low-sugar lens, this recipe leans on two of our favourite ingredients: monk fruit for clean sweetness, and tremella for its unique relationship with hydration.

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Why granita?

Granita is traditionally made with water, sugar, and fruit, frozen and scraped into crystalline flakes.

Our version keeps that spirit, but:

• dramatically reduces sugar
• adds functional hydration support
• keeps flavours sharp, green, and refreshing

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The Recipe

Ingredients (serves 1-2)

• 1 cup cucumber, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup filtered water
• ½ tsp Shoku Iku 10:1 Monk Fruit Extract
• Juice of ½ lime
• 5 fresh mint leaves
  or 1–2 drops food-grade peppermint essential oil (more intense)
• 1 tbsp Tremella powder

Method

1. Blend all ingredients until completely smooth.
2. Taste and adjust the sweetness or lime to your liking.
3. Pour into a shallow tray and freeze for 2–3 hours.
4. Every 30–45 minutes, scrape with a fork to create fine ice crystals.
5. Serve immediately, or refreeze and re-scrape just before serving.

Cucumber: structured water

Cucumber is over 95% water. It is one of the most hydrating vegetables. it delivers hydration alongside potassium and cooling phytonutrients. In traditional food systems, cucumber is prized for clearing heat and thirst.

Lime & mint: lift and circulation

Lime brightens digestion, while mint (or peppermint) creates an immediate cooling sensation through menthol.

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Tremella: hydration that behaves differently

Unlike electrolytes, tremella:

• binds water and slows its loss
• supports skin, gut, and connective tissue hydration
• has a soft, mucilaginous quality that works beautifully in frozen desserts

This is why tremella shows up both in traditional Chinese tonics and modern skincare.

In granita, it gives a subtle silkiness and turns simple ice into something more sustaining.

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Monk Fruit: sweetness without the spike

This recipe relies on monk fruit (Luo Han Guo), a fruit traditionally used in China both as a sweetener and as a cooling herb.

Monk fruit sweetness comes from mogrosides, not sugar. That means:

• no glucose spike
• no crash
• no aftertaste when properly extracted

Which monk fruit should you use?

We offer two monk fruit options, both 100% pure monk fruit.

Always adjust sweetness to your own palate. Cold dulls sweetness, so taste before freezing.

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A note on essential oils

Fresh mint gives a gentle, green flavour.
Peppermint essential oil is much more intense and cooling to the palate without a bitterness.

If using oil:

• make sure it’s food-grade
• start with 1 drop, blend, then reassess

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How to serve it

• As a light dessert after a summer meal
• Between courses, Sicilian-style
• As a midday reset when the heat steals your appetite

You can also spoon it into chilled glasses and top with extra lime zest or crushed mint.

Enjoy!