Granita is a semi-frozen Sicilian dessert with a coarse, icy texture and intense, concentrated flavors. Its name comes from the Italian for "grainy," describing the dessert's grainy consistency.
According to Sicilian tradition, granita began with snow collected from Mount Etna, mixed with fruit juice, wine, or coffee. Today it is made by pouring a liquid base into a shallow pan, freezing it, and periodically stirring and scraping it with a fork. This repeated agitation stops large ice crystals from forming, giving granita its characteristic coarse, flaky texture, unlike the smoother texture of a churned sorbet or the finer crystals of a sherbet.
Granita is served as a palate cleanser, a stand-alone dessert, or a summer treat, in flavors ranging from lemon and coffee to pistachio and basil.