Cassata is super sweet and sugary, perfect for after a meal, exactly when I tried it. It was rich, and the perfect ending to a dinner. Granita, on the other hand, is cold and lightly sweet, perfect for a hot day at the beach. It tastes like ice cream but is more of a slushy. It made me feel refreshed and cool!
Both granita and cassata are fairly simple to prepare, so I will include how both are made!
Granita is made by mixing fruit juice of the desired flavor, water and sugar, then freezing it slowly while stirring. This creates tiny ice crystals that make it smooth and slushy.
Cassata is made by layering soft sponge cake with sweet ricotta cheese mixed with sugar and tiny pieces of candied fruit. After, it’s covered with a colorful sugary icing or marzipan on the outside. It’s baked or chilled until ready to eat, and usually the end result looks beautiful!
Yes! The food in Italy is connected to the local environment. Italians like to use fresh, local ingredients in their cooking. Since Sicily is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, people eat a lot of seafood, like fish and shrimp, in their pasta and pizza. Olive trees and fruit trees grow right along the roads, so fresh olives, lemons, and oranges are used in many dishes too! Flavors of granita reflect the fruits around - so lemon, prickly pear, and fig flavor are common as they grow abundantly here in the areas surrounding Palermo.
