Granita: the right summer treat
June 21st has gone by, and summer it’s officially with us. So if you are worried about extra calories or you don’t feel like eating an ice cream, a grenadine is what you are looking for. Juice, ice coffee or a coffee with cream are perfect to satisfy your desire for something sweet to eat, but what’s more refreshing then ice combined with fruit syrup? From mint to lemon grenadine, everybody can enjoy their favourite flavour without worrying too much about their diet.
Low-sugar taste
A grenadine is perfect even for those who are very careful about the calories-taste ratio. Since its composed by 25-35% sugar, it has less calories than a regular ice cream. Those characteristics makes it a delicious cheat or a tasty dessert.
Be careful about the name. Granita or grattachecca?
True grenadine lovers already know the answer. What is often called granita and frequently purchased at the bar, it’s actually a grattachecca. The grattachecca was born in Rome in the early 1900s. It’s made of crushed ice and syrup or fresh fruit juice. The term comes from big blocks of ice that were used for its production, who were crushed (“grattati” - in italian) and then mixed with syrup or juice, to create this refreshing drink.
Instead, the granita (or granita siciliana) is often mistaken for the sorbetto, which is a less grainy and semi-frozen cool spoon dessert made of water, sugar and fruit juice. The origin of the granita is a bit more complex: it came to us from an ancient arabs-dominated Sicily, and it evolved from the sherbet or sharbat – a typical Middle East flavored drink – to the drink that we all know and that is often served with the classic croissant – or brioche. Then, the snow collected from the "nivaroli" of Etna and the nearby mountains has contributed over time to create this traditional dessert, praised even by Camilleri.
So whether you call it grattachecca or granita, Oasi’s offers a big range of flavours, from the classic lemon, cola, sour cherry or mint to the more exotic watermelon, coconut, melon, red fruit and much more, to satisfy even the more demanding preferences! To find out more about all the different tastes, visit our product page and choose between all the different possibilities we have ready for you!
