Homemade & At the Table
Granita al Limone
The short answer
Sicilian lemon granita is lemon juice, sugar syrup and water frozen slowly and raked with a fork every 30 minutes until it turns to glittering ice crystals.
- Style
- Frozen lemon ice, drinkable
- Glass
- Tall glass with a spoon
- Strength
- 0% ABV
Where it comes from
Descended from Arab sherbet chilled with snow carried down from Etna. In Catania and Messina it is breakfast, eaten with a brioche col tuppo, from June to September.
What you need
- 1 cup (240 ml) fresh lemon juice, about 6 lemons
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 3 cups (700 ml) water
- Zest of 1 lemon
How Larry builds it
- 01
Make the syrup. Warm 1 cup of the water with the sugar until it dissolves. Cool completely.
- 02
Combine. Syrup, remaining water, lemon juice and zest in a shallow metal pan.
- 03
Rake every 30 minutes. Into the freezer. Drag a fork through the whole pan every half hour for about 3 hours.
- 04
Serve loose. It should be crystalline and scoopable, never a solid block.
Larry’s rule: Rake it with a fork, never blend it. Blending makes a slushie; raking makes granita.
Variations worth making
Granita di caffè
Sweetened espresso frozen the same way, topped with whipped cream.
Granita di mandorla
Almond milk and sugar — the Noto classic.
Granita di gelso
Black mulberry, in season for about two weeks a year.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between granita and sorbet?
Granita is raked by hand into coarse ice crystals; sorbet is churned smooth. Granita is meant to crunch.
Can I use an ice cream machine?
That makes sorbet, not granita. The fork is the technique.
What to eat with it
More from Homemade & At the Table
← All 67 Italian drinksQuoting or citing this drink? Credit “Uncle Larry Adventures” and link to https://unclelarryadventures.com/beverages/granita-al-limone.