The Snow Cone (or Snowball if you live in New Orleans, or Hawaiian shaved ice, or the "raspa" if you live in South Texas) are all variations on this classic treat. The first Snow Cones date back to before Christ in the days of the Roman Empire, when snow was brought down from the mountains into the cities of the Empire and syrups were added to create what may have been history's first dessert. They became popular in their present form in either Texas or New Orleans, depending on which claim you believe, in the early 1920's.
As many snow cone experts know, much depends on the consistency of the ice. I personally prefer the ice as finely ground or shaved as possible, almost to a snow powder. There are also as many different flavors and flavor combinations as your imagination can handle. Yes, the old standbys of grape, cherry, strawberry and orange are still popular, but I've come across snow cone stands with upwards of 40 flavors to choose from.
ABOVE: The signature feature of Hawaiian shaved ice is the rainbow of flavor mixtures
As a resident of the South Texas region, I have come to know snow cones as the "raspa" ("raspar" is the Spanish verb for "to scrape"). In addition to your usual snow cone flavors, there are also some culturally unique flavor combinations popular in these parts. I am a big fan of the "Leche" flavor, which is sweetened milk with a lot of cinnamon. So good. "Tiger's Blood" is also popular in South Texas, which is usually cherry (but sometimes strawberry) mixed with coconut. Now, some popular raspa flavors that I do not particularly enjoy include "Picocito", which is lemon with chili powder and "Chamoy," which is a more general term for a variety of fruit flavors mixed with a chili sauce.
A last word of advice: when you are given a choice within each flavor, always go blue. I'll give three examples. If you are at a well stocked snow cone stand, they will have two varieties of coconut; "coconut" (a clear syrup) and "blue coconut" (which, as you might imagine, is blue). Also, there is often "pink bubblegum" and "blue bubblegum". Also, you may have the choice between "raspberry" and "blue raspberry" (as I had yesterday). In all cases, the blue variety is the deeper, richer flavor.
ABOVE: Snow cones are delicious
6 comments:
Sage snow cone advice, Dez, although I am a traditionalist and prefer my snow cones cherry.
Where is the Letterman/Palin commentary on this blog? Everybody else is covering this epic debate. Clearly Palin has showed her executive leadership by coaxing an official apology from the sleazeball Letterman. Hail to the new chief in 2012.
Yes, I thought about posting about Palin vs. Letterman, or perhaps revolutionary rumblings in Iran. But they are what they are. Right now, a good snow cone seems more relevant.
BTW, Snow balls are actually their own unique specimen. There is only one company in the wold that actually make snow ball machines. Snow cones are just cheap imitations.
For great info on snow cones and snow cone stands check out TheSnowConeStand
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