Page 10 - North Haven Magazine Issue 39 Summer 2025

THE COOL DELIGHTS OF
THE COOL DELIGHTS OF

and
and

by Nick Casella

When the Mediterranean sun hits mer. Made with water, sugar, and
its peak, Italy doesn’t reach for ice natural flavors like lemon, almond,
cream, rather it turns to its ele- or coffee, it is stirred slowly as it
gant, time-honored treats: Gelato freezes, creating an icy, crystalline
and Granita. These frozen icons ar- texture. Other flavors like Nutella
en’t just desserts, they are cultural and chocolate along with fruit fla-
pillars, passed down through gen- vors like peach, strawberry, orange,
erations with pride and precision. masterpiece. Made with whole and melon are also popular. Grani-
milk, less cream, and little to no ta styles vary by region: smooth in
egg yolks, it’s churned slowly to the east (Catania and Taormina),
reduce air and intensify taste. It’s grainier in the west (Palermo). In
also served slightly warmer than Sicily, granita isn’t just a refresh-
ice cream, giving it a velvety tex- ment, it’s a way of life.
ture.

From the Pistachios of Bronte, a
town in Sicily, located in the met-
ropolitan city of Catania, on the
western slopes of Mount Etna,
to the breathtaking Amalfi Coast,
where Amalfi lemons are used to
My wife and I have had the plea- create that incredibly delicious
sure of traveling to Italy several gelato di Limone, to Bologna and
times over the past several years Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna
and we have always made it our region of Italy, where Amarena
mission to enjoy Gelato or Granita cherries, known for their intense,
in every major city or village. Ital- sweet and sour flavor, are tradi-
ians are very conscious of the qual- tionally preserved in syrup and
ity of their food products and the are a popular ingredient in Italian
flavors and textures of gelato and desserts, cocktails, and of course, If you ever travel to Taormina,
granita are no exception. In Sicily, gelato. Each flavor is a love letter Sicily, be sure to taste the Granita
enjoying your gelato or granita with to local ingredients. If you travel to at Bam Bar. This granita bar was
a brioche (a sweet, enriched dough Italy, or Europe in general, seek out made famous in the HBO series
pastry) is often eaten for breakfast “Gelato Artigianale”, where every The White Lotus (specifically
on those hot summer days. scoop is handcrafted and seasonal. season two) filmed in Taormina,
and the Bam Bar is featured as
GELATO GRANITA: SICILY’S a location where characters visit
Gelato is creamier, denser, and FROZEN JEWEL for breakfast, particularly for
more flavorful than typical ice granita. While there, my wife
cream. Gelato is Italy’s creamy Granita, Sicily’s shimmering des- ordered a combination of peach
sert, is the very essence of sum-
and strawberry granita topped

10 North Haven Magazine - Summer 2025