🍧 Granita
Granita is a Sicilian frozen dessert made from water, sugar and fruit juice, brightened with lemon. It is frozen slowly and scraped or stirred as it sets, giving a texture of fine, soft ice crystals — smoother than shaved ice, coarser than sorbet. It is served very cold in a glass, and in Sicily it is often eaten for breakfast with a soft brioche.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 ml fruit juice (e.g. orange, strawberry or watermelon)
- 250 ml water
- 120 g sugar
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Method
- Warm the water with the sugar until dissolved, then cool.
- Stir in the fruit juice, lemon juice and zest.
- Pour into a shallow metal tray and freeze.
- Every 30 minutes, scrape and stir with a fork to break up the ice crystals, for about 3–4 hours.
- Serve in chilled glasses.
How to make it lighter
- Reduce the sugar — very ripe fruit juice needs less sweetening.
- Use a naturally sweet juice such as watermelon and skip part of the added sugar.
- Serve in a small glass; a 150 g portion is a light dessert.
History
Granita is closely tied to Sicily, where snow from Mount Etna and other mountains was historically stored and used to chill drinks and sweets. Over time the flavoured ice evolved into the granita eaten across the island today, with lemon, almond, coffee and fruit among the classic flavours.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →