Century-old Italian ice recipe is creating childhood memories for a whole new generation

What started in 1915 as a neighborhood Italian ice shop without a sign is ready to expand nationwide by offering franchises.

"It was one of those, 'If you know, you know. It's that little green shack,'" DiCosmo's Italian Ice owner Eileen O'Connor told Fox News Digital of the original Elizabeth, New Jersey, location.

Now a community institution in Metuchen, New Jersey, DiCosmo's is hoping like-minded businesspeople will carry on their tradition by opening Italian ice shops in other places, with particular interest in franchises along the Eastern Seaboard and in warm-weather states, where shops can stay open longer.

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O'Connor's great-grandparents emigrated from Italy and settled in New Jersey.

"The story goes that it was a particularly hot summer, and my grandmother was looking for something similar to the granita she had had in Italy," O'Connor said. "She wanted something refreshing."

Granita is an icy dessert made with water, sugar and flavorings, such as lemon, coffee or almond. It's popular in Sicily, where it's commonly eaten for breakfast with a sweet, warm brioche bun.

The DiCosmo family had a little corner store in Elizabeth. It was there, O'Connor said, that her great-grandmother came up with a recipe to recreate the granita she missed using the fruits available at the local market, which happened to be lemon, the traditional flavor in Italy.

The original recipe, a hand-squeezed and hand-churned mixture of fruit, water and sugar, hasn't changed in four generations.

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"I can't mess with an 111-year-old lemon-ice recipe," O’Connor said. "We have generations of customers who are coming [to the shop]. They'll know."

DiCosmo's simple, high-quality ingredients, the company's authenticity and its family heritage are what's led the business to endure, O'Connor said.

"I squeeze every lemon by hand, and [the Italian ice] is made in small batches," she said. "The quality control is bar-none. We use real fruit, sugar and water, and that's what you taste. The fruit bursts in your mouth with flavor. It's not overly sweet."

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The longer the mixture is kept cold, the bigger the ice crystals get, resulting in a different texture, O'Connor said. 

Because the icy treat is made fresh throughout the day, it maintains its smooth consistency, she said. It's also the reason DiCosmo's is seeking franchisees — not space in the freezer aisles of retailers.

"There are no stabilizers or emulsifiers; that would make [the ice] freeze solid," she said. 

"That's not what we're known for. We're known for our really clean, authentic fruit flavors and that texture where it melts in your mouth. To maintain standards, the same flavor and consistency, it has to be made fresh at each location."

O'Connor's parents transitioned the family store to an exclusive Italian ice shop, and new flavors, along with a machine to churn the ice mixture, were added along the way.

"If I stop doing this — and I love what I make — DiCosmo's stops," O'Connor said that she recalled one weekend while working at the shop prior to taking over the family business.

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DiCosmo's is "a true, fun, summertime experience," O'Connor said.

"It's nostalgic. It tastes like something you might have had in your childhood."

Creating a satisfying treat that people enjoy "motivates me," she added.

"It makes me feel proud," she said, crediting her "great team of employees" with the business' success.

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Being a welcoming place for the community to gather is "so satisfying," she said.

"I didn't know it's what I wanted to do from the start, but I'm so glad I was born into this family where I can do this," O'Connor said.

Since offering franchise opportunities recently, DiCosmo's has received several inquiries, O'Connor said.