Type | Shaved ice |
---|---|
Variations | Granita |
A snow cone (or snow kone, sno kone, sno-kone, sno cone, or sno-cone) is a variation of shaved ice or ground-up ice desserts commonly served in paper cones or foam cups. [1] The dessert consists of ice shavings that are topped with flavored sugar syrup.
Depending on the region of North America, the terms "snowball", “ice cone” and "snow cone" may refer to different things. Where the distinction is made, the former refers to a dessert made of finely shaved ice ("like soft fresh snow"), while the latter contains ground-up ice that is coarser and more granular ("crunchy").
In the 1850s, the American Industrial Revolution made ice commercially available in the United States. Ice houses in New York would commonly sell ice to states like Florida. To transport the ice to Florida, the ice houses would send a wagon with a huge block of ice south. The route to Florida would pass right through Baltimore where children would run up to the wagon and ask for a small scraping of ice. Before long, mothers started to make flavoring in anticipation of their children receiving some ice. The first flavor the women made is still a Baltimore favorite: egg custard. Egg custard was an easy flavor to make as the only ingredients were eggs, vanilla, and sugar. [2]
By the 1870s, the snow cone's popularity had risen to the degree that in the warm summer months, theaters would sell snow cones to keep their patrons cool. Because of this association with the theater, snow cones were thought of as an upper-class commodity. Signs in theaters instructing patrons to finish their snow cones before coming in to the second act are the earliest tangible evidence of snow cones. In the Baltimore theaters at the time, hand shavers were used to shave the ice. In the 1890s, many people started to invent easier ways to make snow cones. In that decade, patents for electric ice shavers were filed. [3] [4]
Snow cones became available outside of Baltimore during the Great Depression and the Second World War because they were exceptionally affordable. Their low cost earned them several nicknames including the Hard Times Sundae and the Penny Sunday. The low cost of producing and selling snow cones created many straightforward opportunities for work. After ice cream became unavailable at the home front, snow cones arose as a nationally popular alternative in America. [5]
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food colouring is sometimes added in addition to stabilizers. The mixture is cooled below the freezing point of water and stirred to incorporate air spaces and prevent detectable ice crystals from forming. It can also be made by whisking a flavoured cream base and liquid nitrogen together. The result is a smooth, semi-solid foam that is solid at very low temperatures. It becomes more malleable as its temperature increases.
Kakigōri (かき氷) is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk.
Snow cream can be one of two distinct desserts.
Crème caramel, flan, caramel pudding, condensed milk pudding or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce.
Gelato is the common word in Italian for all types of ice cream. In English, it specifically refers to a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of frozen dessert. Gelato typically contains 35% air and more flavoring than other types of frozen desserts, giving it an intense flavor with creamy, smooth texture, density and richness that distinguishes it from other ice creams.
Frozen custard is a frozen dessert that is a type of ice cream that is made with egg yolks in addition to cream and sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and an additional flavoring such as cocoa, vanilla, or fruit such as strawberries or peaches. It is usually kept at a warmer temperature compared to ice cream, and typically has a denser consistency.
Italian ice is a semi-frozen sweetened treat composed of finely granulated ice and fruit concentrates, juices, or purées, or other natural or artificial food flavorings. Italian ice is derived from Italian granita and is in many ways similar to sorbet and snow cones, but differs from American-style sherbet in that it does not contain dairy or egg ingredients. The ingredients in Italian ice are mixed, then whipped during the freezing process similar to the process for making ice cream. As a group, Italian ice comes in a variety of consistencies from crunchy, to smooth, to slushy. In Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, including South Jersey and northern Delaware, Italian ice is known as water ice.
Hansen's Sno-Bliz is a snowball stand located in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A., on Tchoupitoulas Street at Bordeaux Street.
Shaved ice is a large family of ice-based desserts made of fine shavings of ice and sweet condiments or syrups. Usually, the syrup is added after the ice has been frozen and shaved—typically at the point of sale; however, flavoring can also be added before freezing. The dessert is consumed worldwide in various forms and ways. Shaved ice can also be mixed with large quantities of liquid to produce shaved ice drinks.
Shave ice or Hawaiian shave ice is an ice-based dessert made by shaving a block of ice and flavoring it with syrup and other sweet ingredients. On Hawai‘i Island, it is also referred to as "ice shave".
Frozen dessert is a dessert made by freezing liquids, semi-solids, and sometimes solids. They may be based on flavored water, on fruit purées, on milk and cream, on custard, on mousse (semifreddo), and others. It is sometimes sold as ice-cream in South Asia and other countries.
A piragua[piˈɾa.ɣwa] is a Puerto Rican shaved ice dessert, shaped like a cone, consisting of shaved ice and covered with fruit-flavored syrup. Piraguas are sold by vendors, known as piragüeros, from small, traditionally brightly colored pushcarts offering a variety of flavors. Besides Puerto Rico, piraguas can be found in areas of the United States with large Puerto Rican communities, such as New York and Central Florida.
A sno-ball is a confection made with finely shaved ice and flavored sugar syrup. Commonly confused with the snow cone, the ice of a sno-ball is fine and fluffy; while a snow cone's ice is coarse, crunchy, and granular. Moreover, whereas in a snow cone the flavored syrup sinks to the bottom of the cup, in a sno-ball the ice absorbs the syrup.