Sorbet, sherbet and granita: what’s the difference

Sorbet, sherbet and granita have one thing in common: almost no fat. That is where the similarity ends. They differ in three things at once — how much milk they contain, how much sugar, and whether the mix is churned or scraped while it freezes. Everything else follows: the texture, the serving temperature and how long they keep.

The difference in one table

The figures below are the target ranges zmrzka uses when it calculates the composition of every recipe.

The big jump is not between sorbet and sherbet, but between those two and granita. Sorbet and sherbet are essentially the same dessert with or without milk. Granita is a different category — much less sugar, much less solids, and deliberately large crystals.

Sorbet: the sugar does everything

Sorbet is fruit, water and sugar. There is no fat to coat the palate and no milk protein to bind water, so sugar does all that work: it sweetens, it makes up almost all the solids, and it lowers the freezing point so the sorbet stays scoopable. That leaves the least room for error of the three — too little sugar and you get an icy brick, too much and the mix never freezes properly.

Sorbet is churned while it freezes, either in a machine or by stirring it in the freezer every half hour. Churning breaks up the crystals while they are still small, which is why sorbet comes out smooth. Recipes: lemon, raspberry, mango and lime.

Sherbet: a little milk on top

Sherbet starts from the same fruit base as sorbet, with a little milk, cream or buttermilk added. Milk proteins bind water and hold air, so sherbet is creamier and lighter — the target overrun is 25–50 % against 15–30 % for sorbet. The colour is paler, because the milk softens the fruit shade.

That smoothness has two costs. Sherbet is no longer dairy-free — it contains lactose and milk protein, so it is no substitute for sorbet if you have a milk allergy. And the acid from citrus can curdle the milk, which is why the fruit juice goes into the chilled mix only just before churning.

Recipes: orange, raspberry, rainbow.

Granita: less sugar, more ice and a fork

Granita is Sicilian shaved ice. It is not churned — it is scraped. The mix goes into a shallow tray and every 30 minutes or so you scrape the frozen edges into the middle with a fork, three or four times in all. The result is fine, loose grains that melt the moment they touch your tongue.

For those grains to form at all, granita needs less sugar. Sweeten it like a sorbet and the water will not freeze hard enough to be scraped — you end up with slush. That is also why granita is served warmer (−10 to −6 °C) and why it does not keep: with no fat, no protein and a thin sugar solution, the crystals grow fast. Granita is at its best on the day you make it.

In exchange it needs no machine at all — just a freezer and the no-machine method. Recipes: lemon, coffee with whipped cream, almond.

The same lemon, three ways

The numbers zmrzka calculates from our own recipes show it best.

Granita has about a third less sugar and a third fewer solids than the sorbet — hence the lowest energy value of the three. Sherbet has less sugar than sorbet but higher total solids: the milk contributes fat and protein instead. For more on PAC, see PAC and POD.

What the law says and what is only custom

Of the three, only sorbet has a legal definition in Slovakia and Czechia.

Sherbet is an American category. 21 CFR § 135.140 sets it at 1–2 % milk fat, at least 1 % milk solids non-fat and 2 to 5 % total milk solids, with an acidity of at least 0.35 % for fruit sherbets. The equivalent of sorbet there is “water ices” (§ 135.160) — the same thing, but with no dairy at all.

Granita has no legal definition anywhere. It is custom, not regulation — and even the custom shifts depending on where in Sicily you are: coarser in Palermo, almost smooth in Messina.

Where the names get confused

• Sherbet in Europe. In British English “sherbet” usually means a fizzy sweet powder or a drink, not a frozen dessert. The American sense — a fruit ice with a little milk — is the one used here.
• Sorbet and sherbet share a root. Both words come through the Italian sorbetto from the Persian sharbat, a sweet chilled drink.
• Italian ice. The American “Italian ice” grew out of granita and is usually finer than the Sicilian original.

Which one to make

• No machine → granita. A tray and a fork will do, about 20 minutes of actual work.
• Intense fruit flavour and a smooth spoonful → sorbet.
• Something between sorbet and ice cream → sherbet, but count on the milk in the ingredients.
• A milk allergy, or serving vegans → sorbet or granita, never sherbet.

None of the three will last a week. All are best within a couple of days, and granita on the day it is made — the article on ice crystals and texture explains why.