Granità and Granité

Granità and granité are the Italian and French names, respectively, for a type of coarse dessert ice. They use basically the same ingredients as sorbets; however, they have a lower sugar content and are still frozen without churning. The name granità is taken from the Italian word grana, meaning “grainy,” which refers both to the coarse texture of the ice crystals in the finished product and its resemblance to the grainy pattern of the Italian rock slabs known as granite. Granitàs are said to have become popular in Paris in the late nineteenth century and were mentioned by Mark Twain in his book The Innocents Abroad (1869), in which he described “people at small tables in Venice smoking and taking granità.” Granitàs quickly became favored in the United States, where they are usually known by the French name granité.