The Ritual Of Granita In Sicily

NEW ANNUAL MEMBERS GET A FREE SURPRISE GIFT

18 August 2022

by Giadzy

You must be signed in to print this content

When you visit Sicily in the summertime, you get granita. It's simply the way.

Granita, as a recipe, is an incredibly simple treat - but it is so much more than a few ingredients. Granita isn't just a recipe for dessert, but an intrinsic piece of culture in Sicily.

The History

Granita goes back thousands of years - think ancient Mesopotamia. In these ancient times, there was once an occupation titled "nevarolu" - this was a person who traveled to Mount Etna to gather snow, and would conserve it in cold caves year-round. When summer rolled around, Sicilians would purchase this harvested icey snow to turn into a tasty treat. This was the blueprint for modern-day granita, and after many iterations through thousands of years, it became what it is today.

Sicily Granita Ritual, Image Credit: Natasha Wynnyk

Cafe Sicilia

An Unlikely Pairing

In Sicily, granita is not enjoyed all by itself - it's almost always consumed with an accompanying bun of fluffy brioche (and the brioche buns have a bun of their own: a little ball on top of the dough called a tuppo in reference to the low-bun hairstyle popularized by Sicilian women).

Take a scoop of granita, dollop it on a ripped-off chunk of brioche bread, and eat. It just works - trust us!

Bam Bar

Not Just Dessert

While we might consider an icey treat like this to be the perfect after-dinner sweet, that's not when granita is traditionally enjoyed. In summers, it's an incredibly common breakfast item, but can be acceptably eaten at any time of day as a snack or meal of its own.