Almond granita (granita alle mandorle)

Milky-white granita made from almonds, water and sugar — a Sicilian classic from around Catania and Etna.

Almond granita is really frozen almond milk. The almonds are blended with the water and sugar as finely as possible and the mix is left to infuse. Strained, it is finer and lighter; unstrained, denser and fuller. The almond oil gives it a creaminess that fruit granitas lack.

Type: Granita · Servings: 6 · Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 100 g almonds (skinned (blanched))
  • 700 g water
  • 170 g granulated sugar (sucrose)

Making the mix

  1. Soak the blanched almonds in cold water for 2 hours (or overnight). Drain.
  2. Blend the almonds with the sugar and about a third of the water as finely as you can (2–3 minutes in a high-speed blender).
  3. Add the remaining water, blend briefly and leave to infuse in the fridge for 1 hour.
  4. For a smooth granita, strain the mix through a tea towel and squeeze the pulp well. For a rustic one, leave it as it is.

Method — No-machine method

  1. Pour the chilled mix into a shallow metal or glass container (2–3 cm deep) and put it in the freezer.
  2. After 45–60 minutes, once the edges have frozen, scrape them with a fork and mix them into the centre.
  3. Repeat the scraping every 30 minutes until everything has turned into loose, icy flakes (about 3–4 hours in total).
  4. Before serving, fork the granita through once more and spoon it into chilled glasses.

A metal container chills faster than glass. If you forget the granita for too long and it freezes into a block, let it soften for 10 minutes, then scrape it with a fork or pulse it briefly in a food processor.

Total time: 7 h 20 min

Method — Compressor ice cream maker

  1. Switch the ice cream maker on 5–10 minutes ahead so the bowl can pre-chill.
  2. Pour in the chilled mix and churn for 20–25 minutes until you have a thick, glossy, still flowing ice slush.
  3. Serve straight away — this is how the smooth granita is sold in eastern Sicily (Messina, Catania), from rotating dispensers.

An ice cream maker gives a smooth, creamy granita. Don’t churn it too long — granita shouldn’t be as firm as sorbet. Any leftovers will set in the freezer; fork them through before serving.

Total time: 3 h 45 min

Stages

Preparation
20 min
Resting
2 h
Cooling
1 h
Churning
25 min
Total time
3 h 45 min

Serving and storage

Sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds or a pinch of cinnamon. In Sicily it is often served in the same glass as coffee granita.

Granita is best on the day it is made. It keeps for a few days in the freezer but sets hard — let it soften for 5–10 minutes before serving and scrape it again with a fork.

Tips

  • The composition is calculated with whole almonds, so it shows about 5 % fat — more than is usual for granita. That is intentional: the almond fat makes the granita creamy. After straining, both fat and total solids are lower.
  • A few drops of orange blossom water or a strip of lemon zest in the infusion add a Sicilian aroma. Traditionally a few bitter almonds went in too — but they contain amygdalin, so leave them out at home.
  • Instead of almonds you can use 100 g of almond paste (100 %) — simply blend it with the water and sugar.
  • Granita should contain less sugar than sorbet — about 16–20 °Bx. A refractometer measures it precisely; without one, taste the mix: it should taste like a distinctly sweet drink, not like syrup. Fruit varies, so add a little more sugar if needed.

Why it works

During blending, the almond oil disperses into tiny droplets that settle between the ice crystals and stop them from growing together. That is why almond granita is smoother and "milkier" than fruit granitas, even though it has similarly little sugar (about 18 %).

Sources