Why A Metal Baking Pan Is Ideal For Making Granita At Home

Granita is a perfect summertime treat. This Sicilian frozen dessert requires just a few ingredients and is naturally vegan. It's also super refreshing and can be made fruity, boozy, or caffeinated. All you need is a liquid, a sweetener, pureed fruit (if desired), and a baking pan. 

Granita is easy to make in a pinch, but you will need to prep it ahead of time. The freezing process can take anywhere from two to four hours. However, there are some ways you can speed it up. To make granita quickly at home, use a metal baking pan. 

Metal baking pans, like aluminium and stainless steel baking pans, will help your granita mixture to freeze faster than pans or trays made from other materials because metal has a high thermal conductivity. This means metal both cools down and heats up faster. Metal baking pans are also ideal to use because, unlike nonstick baking pans, they don't contain potentially toxic coatings.

If you dig into the science of freezing, some research might suggest heating up your granita mixture as a way to freeze it faster due to the Mpemba effect, but hot liquids do not necessarily freeze more quickly. There are several factors that will impact how long it takes for a granita to freeze, including your freezer's temperature and the ingredients you include. 

For example, sugar lowers the freezing point of water. Whether those sugars are from fruit juice, added sweeteners, or both, your sweetened granita will take longer to solidify that just plain water. Alcohol also has a lower freezing point than water. Freezing your granita ingredients in a thin layer will help everything freeze more quickly because water freezes from the top down. A shallow pan of granita liquid will have less depth to freeze, so it's especially important to use one when your granita contains booze.