Sagranita

Remember that song, Despacito, from 2017 (or later, if you’re cool like me) - the one that got stuck in everyone’s head? Remember how the chorus started out? “Des-pah-CIT-oh!” Okay, now take the beginning of the chorus and replace it with “sah-gran-IT-ah!” “What the heck is that?” you ask. Well, I am here to tell you the joys of a magical Sicilian semi-frozen treat and a glorious festival in its honor on verdant bluffs of the northern Sicilian coastline. Sah-gran-IT-ah!

First things first, “sagranita” is not a real word. It’s a combo of “sagra,” an Italian food festival, and “granita,” which you have been introduced to in its general form, if not its deliciousness. It’s a made-up word, but more importantly, a memory, a melody, and a discovery.

As will become apparent if you have read some of my past and future blog posts, I have a passion for - and a knack for finding - Mediterranean food festivals. I have been to the following food festivals (drum roll, please): pomegranate, honey, pistachio (twice!), pizza, gelato, beer (a cultural experience, I swear), artichoke (three times!), strawberry, almond blossom, and lavender. And those are just the ones I went to on purpose! I once tried very hard to find a mozzarella di bufala (i.e., magic cheese that goes on pizza) festival while at the archaeological site of Paestum in Campania, but after getting a variety of answers from locals, none of which agreed with each other, I gave up but miraculously found a mozzarella di bufala farm with a deli and sat down for a feast of a tasting plate (which I almost saw in reverse as I sprinted for the train later, only to realize that the train was 20 minutes late when I arrived at the platform… anyway…) I also have a knack for accidentally wandering into festivals and town celebrations, but that’s a post for another day. So, when I found this sagra della granita (granita food festival) while excavating in Sicily one summer, I invited my dirt-covered dig friends who knew and trusted my weird and wonderful obsession and we made a weekend of it.

After picking up a rental car, my then semi-clean archaeology nerds and I squeezed into the car and white knuckled (not on account of my driving, just how all Americans feel while being in a car in Sicily – it’s scary) our way to the north side of the island to the town of Gioiosa Marea.  (The drive is where the very catchy “sagranita” song was born.  I’m sure there were multiple made-up lyrics, but obviously, these were not as catchy as the chorus, so I only remember the one bar, the namesake of this post.)  We were pleased to find out Gioiosa Marea was a gorgeous little seaside village nestled at the edge of the bluffs, between the beach and a steep green incline.  Our AirBnB, however, was up the steep incline. After some map mishaps, and driving in circles in town, we finally figured out where our (very cute) lodgings were, set up camp, watched the sun disappear into the sea (that never gets old), then trickled down the mountain to the festival. 

Now, typically I’m a planner, but Sicily has a way of forcing the “Type A” out of a person.  There’s often no point, since stuff happens when it’s good and ready, not according to a preset schedule (if you want that, Germany is the place for you). So, we headed down the mountain side only knowing that there was a granita festival of some sort… why look up stuff when you can aimlessly drive two hours to a festival and just assume there will be something, right? (To be fair, I’m sure I looked up something at the time, but have zero recollection of this and I can only assume that I knew that “something” was going on that day.  At least I knew that there would be granita.)  We arrived to find a town in celebration; food stalls set up and clearly decorated for a festa (that’s Italian for festival – cognates are great).  We immediately spotted the “Sagranita” signs, granita menus, and other food menus (though I could simply live off granita, this diet not for everyone). The five of us each ordered a different granita flavor and sampled all our wares, which were unsurprisingly amazing.  I believe mango may have been involved, as well as lemon, watermelon, strawberry, peach, chocolate, coffee, almond, pistachio, and mulberry (a highly underrated berry in the USA).

I realize that I have yet to properly explain just what granita is.  Granita is the original cousin (or maybe great grandmother, to add in some history and separation) of the item known as an “Italian ice” (aka “abomination”) in the United Stated.  You may also know this as a “slushy,” which is a further abomination.  But, shockingly, both of these backwards cousins have something in common with their ancestor: no dairy.  Granita is a dairy-free semi-frozen, slushy-like treat that is typically made from fruit or nuts mixed with water and sugar, but can also be found in coffee and chocolate flavors.  If that sounds boring to you, consider that all fruits and veggies taste better in the Mediterranean (we have ruined produce in the US). Imagine the best strawberry that you have EVER tasted. Now imagine a whole dessert using these strawberries.  Now imagine that in a sweet slushy-like form without any fake sweeteners or gross added chemicals.  Put it in a cup with a tiny spoon and you have granita, my friend.  OR you can put it on a brioche bun and eat it like a sandwich (seriously, it’s delicious, though I know it sounds really really weird, but it’s like eating cake and ice cream, only much better).  “Sah-gran-IT-ah!” To go full Sicilian, you eat your granita bun for breakfast.  Real granita only exists in Sicily. I repeat: real granita only exists in Sicily! Okay, you may be able to find an exception or two, but chances are, it’s got nothing on the island original.  These cups of joy come in many mouthwatering flavors: almond, chocolate, pistachio, coffee, strawberry, mulberry, lemon, blood orange, peach, and others, all super fresh and unimaginably delicious.  You can get them as one single flavor or a combo (my faves are mulberry and lemon, almond and chocolate, pistachio and chocolate, and the Aidone special).  What’s the Aidone special?  You get a scoop of lemon granita in your Aperol Spritz, but you may have to go the Piazzetta café in Aidone for this (you won’t regret it, trust me – the food here is a gastronomic experience).  But I digress…

This traditional treat has been around for a long time.  Granita is rumored to have originated when Arabs started settling in Sicily around the 9th century CE.  They not only brought lemons with them (fun fact: lemons are NOT native to the Mediterranean!), but also their own frozen fruity treat, which we now call sherbet.  Using snow from Mount Etna, fruity syrups took on another form, and thus granita was born. “Sah-gran-IT-ah!”

Back to the festa!  My fellow nerds and I were all delightfully sampling the festival wares and drooling over the “real food” menu (which included a spleen sandwich – not bad! – and a fried chickpea sandwich – panelle, another Sicilian delight), when I heard a magical sound that I knew at once meant that there would be a parade of folk dancers. REED FLUTE! The reed flute (friscaletto in Italian) is THE characteristic sound of Sicily and always signifies that something amazing is about to happen (listen here).  This high pitched, whimsical instrument was the fast-paced opening melody of the throng of women dressed in traditional gear, parading through the center of the sagra. We smushed ourselves to the edges of the street to make way for the folk dancers and watched in awe as they parted the sea of granita enthusiasts. They danced their way to a large open area near the main granita drag and we all sat down with our granita cups (some of us may have had multiple cups… one must double fist at a granita festival to fully experience it) and spleen sandwiches and watched the festivities unfold.  The rest of the night was filled with traditional costumes, dances, and songs (the chorus of one went something like “dun-kee, dun-kee, dun-kee!” and still brings me joy).  The whole town was there, including us five outliers, who were grateful to be part of something truly unique.  While I had only hoped for granita, what my friends and I got was so much more: dessert, dinner, and a show - a true cultural experience.  It’s the happy accidents and unplanned festas that keep drawing me back to Sicily and the Mediterranean in general… and the granita, obviously (which we all had for breakfast the next day).  “Sah-gran-IT-ah!”

In case you also live under a metaphorical cultural rock, you can find the Despacito song here.

And more traditional friscaletto, for you folk nerds.