So you were enjoying a delicious shave ice but weren’t able to finish the whole thing. We’ve been there. So have our kids. Shave ice servings can be huge so this happens all the time. Nobody wants to waste a perfectly good snow cone or shaved ice, so a really common question is how to freeze shaved ice without freezing it solid.
Putting the shaved ice directly into the freezer for too long will soon cause the shaved ice to turn into a solid block of ice. In physics terms, this is due to a process called sintering. Have you ever noticed ice cubes in a glass of water sticking to each other? This happens because of the difference in temperature between the ice and water. This is the same reason your shaved ice or snow cone freezes into a solid block instead of staying soft and snowy.
If you put it in the fridge, it’s going to slowly melt. However, a refrigerator is a good temporary solution for temporarily slowing the melting of shave ice.
How To Save The Shave For Later
The best way to keep shaved ice from freezing together is to try to keep it at a constant temperature and regularly stir it so it doesn’t freeze solid. You can do this by putting it into a freezer and then taking it out and switching it to the fridge every so often and stirring it to keep it soft. Repeat this process, alternating the ice back and forth between the freezer and refrigerator and stirring it in between. We recommend Switching it back and forth every 5-10 minutes or so, but this will depend on how cold your fridge and freezer are.
Other Options To Keep it Freezing Solid
Don’t have the time to stir your shaved ice every 10 minutes?
Unfortunately, the only other option we’ve found to avoid the ice from turning solid is to use a slushy machine or margarita machine. This will turn it into something of a slurry. But that’s going to happen regardless of what method you try.
What if it Has Already Frozen Solid?
One last thing you can do if your shave ice has already become frozen solid is to smash it into smaller pieces (you can put it into a plastic bag and use a mallet for this) and then put it into a blender like a Ninja. It might not have the same great texture it did when it was fresh, but it will still taste good!
Of course, you could always buy your own shaved ice maker for home so you can make shave ice whenever you want. This is what our family did, and it’s been a great family time bonding activity.
Now we see why shave ice is almost always made to order and not kept waiting in a cooler like ice cream is. But it’s a small price to pay for the soft icy deliciousness of freshly shaven ice!
