History

Del's was founded in 1948 by Angelo DeLucia in Cranston, who imported his grandfather's Italian neapolitan recipe. The grainy texture, somewhere between Italian granita and American slushie, is the signature. Del's now operates over 40 carts and trucks across Rhode Island, with the Federal Hill cart and the Wayland Square truck the canonical Providence pours.

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 15 minTotal 5 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 12 large lemons (about 600ml fresh-squeezed juice)
  • Zest of 4 lemons, finely grated
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 1.2 litres cold water
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt
  • Tall paper cups, to serve
  • Wide drinking straws

Method

  1. Wash the lemons. Zest 4 of them with a microplane and reserve.
  2. Juice all 12 lemons. You want 600ml of fresh juice; top up with extra juice if short.
  3. In a large bowl, dissolve the caster and icing sugars in the cold water. Stir in the salt and lemon zest.
  4. Add the lemon juice. Taste; the mixture should be punchy-sweet but not cloying. Add 30ml more water if it stings too sharp.
  5. Pour into a shallow metal tray (33 by 25cm) to a depth of about 3cm.
  6. Freeze 90 minutes, then scrape with a fork to break up the ice crystals. Return to the freezer.
  7. Repeat the scrape every 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours. The texture you want is grainy ice flakes, not smooth sorbet.
  8. Once the consistency is right (snow-like, but holds a scoop), it is ready.
  9. Scoop into tall paper cups, mounding the top. Insert a wide straw and a small spoon.
  10. Eat outside on a hot day; Del's softens fast and is meant to be eaten in the time it takes to walk down Federal Hill.

Tip from the editors. Use a granita-style fork-scrape method, not an ice cream churn; smooth churning gives the wrong texture. Icing sugar prevents rock-solid freezing.

Where to eat del's frozen lemonade

Del's Frozen Lemonade in Providence

Caserta Pizzeria ★ 4.6

Sicilian$federal-hillTue-Thu 09:30-20:00; Fri-Sun 09:30-21:00

Caserta on Spruce Street has been selling Rhode Island pizza strips since 1953. Sicilian-style square slices with sauce only or sauce-and-cheese.

Try: Pizza strips

121 Spruce Street, Providence, RI 02903

Andino's ★ 4.3

Italian$$$federal-hillMon-Thu 11:30-22:00; Fri-Sat 11:30-23:00; Sun 16:00-22:00

Andino's on Atwells is a Federal Hill stalwart. Veal scaloppine, snail salad and the canonical hot-pepper Rhode Island calamari; Al Fresco patio in summer.

Signature: Veal scaloppine, Snail salad, Rhode Island calamari

Order: Snail salad, RI calamari with cherry peppers, then veal scaloppine.

Tip: Open daily until 21:45 (22:45 Fri-Sat). The Atwells outdoor seats are best on Al Fresco Saturdays from June through early September.

171 Atwells Avenue, Providence, RI 02903

More cities are in research. Want del's frozen lemonade covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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