Growing up as an Italian American boy on the periphery of New York City, iced espresso or Caffe Shakerato was a rite of passage, at least for the Italian natives on our New Jersey block. My mother, specifically, would prepare a large carafe of sugary espresso and place it in the freezer to develop a slushy consistency. Thereafter, the fancy glasses would come out and with 2-3 violent shakes my mother would pour rich and perfectly cold espresso for her guests. The iced espresso was refreshing and a great pick me up during the hot and humid months from June through August.
When I became of age and was allowed to consume espresso it was the iced variety I favored and craved. And while my preference for an expertly crafted hot espresso is my clear favorite these days, cold espresso jump starts my hippocampus and brings me back to my lovely Italian American childhood.
How to Make Iced Espresso or Caffe Shakerato Process and Recipe:
- Brew a large pot of stove top espresso and poor the contents into a glass container, add plenty of sugar, and stir well.
- Place the container in the fridge and cool for an hour or two.
- Move the cold espresso into a plastic shaker with a top (think of a metal shaker but only plastic; this model looks nice) and place in the freezer for 2-3 hours or just until the solution is semi solid. Give the solution a good shake.
- Serve the coffee in aperitif glasses.
Note: Some folks add milk, syrups, etc. to their iced espresso and this is not iced espresso, rather it’s some other concoction that does not resembles an elegant and simple summer time drink. Remember, keep it simple. Note on video: I don’t like the idea of adding hot coffee to ice because it will create too much water, but I wanted to show an alternative to making caffe shakerato in a mixer with ice.
Aged Espresso Container
[…] ipes. We share our pasta, pesto, tomato sauce soup, risotto, chicken, lasagna, c […]
How to Have an Italian 4th of July
Let’s face it, without the many ethnic groups now a permanent part of the US fabric we’d all be living in a pretty bland and sterile environment. Specifically, immigrants are at the heart of American life and they…
We would be living a pretty bland and sterile environment? Really? Why? We could just IMPORT the foods we like.. PS.. Nothing wrong with LEGAL immigration and that has always been part of America- people from different places- No biggy on that one. But we would also be living in a SAFER America if not for all the insane amounts of immigration…Compare so many American cities from years past to today.. Far better and safer back then and the schools were much better too..
rick, did you comment under the correct article?