Pomegranate & Blood Orange Granita

Rosewater syrup [ Falooda Syrup ] is a staple in Middle-Eastern cuisine, it is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. Often used as a sweet, floral drink sweetener, it adds a wonderful Middle Eastern scent to any dish.

A frozen dessert or refresher course thought to originate from Sicily, related to sorbet and Italian ice. Made from a stock or sugar syrup, Fresh Pomegranate juice and Gozitan Blood Orange, but made with a more crystalline texture.

The blood orange is a variety of orange with red, almost blood-coloured flesh. The distinctive dark flesh colour is created by the presence of a type of pigment called anthocyanins which although common to flora it's quite uncommon in citrus fruits. Blood oranges have a fairly unique flavour compared to other oranges, being distinctly berry like as well as having the usual citrus flavours. During the times of the Nights of Malta, the Maltese Archipelago was world famous for the quality of its blood oranges.

The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is the Jewel fruit of the Mediterranean. It is a smallish, fruit-bearing shrub that grows between 5 and 10 m tall. The fruit is typically in season in Malta from September to February. Pomegranates are commonly used in baking, cooking, juicing, meal garnishes, smoothies, and alcoholic beverages.

The pomegranate originated in the region extending from modern-day Iran to northern India and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region.