Sicilian granita has rougher consistency than gelato, is entirely free from air and has a sugar content of about 30%. It is made of water, fruit juices or syrups. On the Siracusa coast, it’s semi-liquid, whereas on the opposite side of the region both its texture and name change: it becomes cremolata.

The typical syrups used to make granita Siciliana or cremolata are reminiscent of the Arab world: jasmine, cinnamon, almond, but especially lemon and coffee. In Rome, people eat grattachecca. The name comes from the verb grattare, to scratch, and from the noun checca,  which was used to indicate a large block of ice. Grattachecca is not really an iced preparation as granita is, because fruit juices or syrups are not mixed into the ice, but added on top of it.