“What’s the difference between shaved ice and snow cones?” It’s one of the most common questions and one with a very simple answer. While the two treats are both made with ice and flavored syrups, they are very different for several reasons. In this article, we will show you the differences between snow cones and shave ice, and how each are made.

Briefly, shave ice is a softer, more snow-like dessert made by shaving a block of ice. While it can resemble a snow cone, snow cones are made with crushed, rather than shaved, ice. Flavored syrups or fruit juices are added to both, but with shave ice the syrups are absorbed by the ice instead of surrounding it as they do with snow cones.

For the visual learners out there, here’s the infographic:

 

The History Of Ice-Based Desserts

Mixing flavors with ice is an idea that has occurred to nearly every person who has encountered snow in the history of mankind. There’s a legend saying that Alexander the Great was mixing snow with wine, fruit juices, and honey. Emperor Nero, in Ancient Rome, supposedly started the practice of storing ice from mountains in pits and using it to create drinks flavored with honey and other spices. Similar practices exist in just about every culture where the snow-covered mountains are nearby and weather is hot: Italy, Greece, Japan, Hawaii, all have a history of flavored snow or ice drinks.

Before the modern refrigeration systems, ice was a luxury in warm climates. It’s hard to imagine, but there wasn’t even an ice market in some tropical regions. Most of these regions had never seen anything frozen and they had, after all, been doing just fine without ice. In the 19th century, Frederic Tudor developed a system for shipping ice from New England to the Caribbean islands, but residents there had no idea what to do with it. He used it for ice cream in the tropics, which was widely regarded as impossible at the time. Tudor stuck with his idea and created a shipping network. It served as an impetus for inventing mechanical refrigerators to preserve – and even create – ice.

The History Of Snow Cones

While digging into a refreshing snow cone at a carnival or fair, you must have been wondering who came up with the idea for this delicious treat? Believe it or not, people have been enjoying snow cones for more than 100 years.

Some of the stories about the first snow cone date back to the middle of 19 century in Baltimore. The story says that children used to follow the ice wagons which would deliver ice blocks to businesses for refrigeration uses. Kids would beg for some ice shavings and parents began to make various flavors to add to the ice. That was the firsts time people started to take note of the popularity of snow cones. Several inventors patented the electric ice shavers.

One of the earliest and most popular flavors was Egg Custard. For parents in the late 1800s, this flavor was easy to make. The ingredients were only vanilla, eggs, and sugar – ingredients that most people had readily available.

Another story about the origin of the snow cone is at the State Fair of Texas. In 1919. a man called Samuel Bert set up a stand to sell snow cones. He invented a patent for his own ice crushing machine, and he continued to sell snow cones for many years afterward.

New Orleans is another city that loves its snow cones. But there, the refreshing treat is called a “snowball.” It’s in 1934, that a man named Ernest Hansen filed a patent for an electric ice shaving machine. His wife, Mary, made her own flavored syrups. If you’re ever in New Orleans, you can still visit Hansen’s Showbiz on Tchoupitoulas Street.

American-Style Snow Cone Recipe

Ingredients:

(for 1 snow cone)

• Plastic cone or cup or an average glass
• Ice blender or snow cone machine
• About 5 or 6 ice cubes (enough to fill a medium glass)
• Syrup and/or juice of your choice (grenadine syrup, lemon, mint, fruit juice, Kool-Aid, Hawaiian Punch, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Crush your ice using either an ice blender, or a snow cone machine. A proper snow cone machine will make things much easier.
2. Pour the dose of “flakes” into the container of your choice
3. Pour your favorite syrup over it and eat right away!

The History Of Hawaiian Shave Ice

Shave ice has its earliest recorded origins in China but was imported to America by Japanese immigrants who brought it when they came to work in sugar plantations in Hawaii. That’s how Shave Ice & Snow cones had become an important part of Hawaiian culture.

When President Obama visited Hawaii, the name of this refreshing icy treat was debated by the press corps. The question was: is it “shaved ice” or “shave ice?” In Hawaii, it’s “shave ice.” Elsewhere, it’s known as “shaved ice” – but just don’t call it a snow cone!

Hawaiian shave ice is always shaved thinly so that it absorbs the flavor of the syrup, just like it’s cultural ancestor, Japanese kakigori. And when it comes to flavors, the most popular tend to be tropical ones made from native Hawaiian fruits like pineapple, mango, guava, and passion fruit.

 

Hawaiian Shave Ice Recipe

Ingredients:

• PINEAPPLE-MANGO SYRUP 2 cups
• pineapple cubes (about 1/2 fresh pineapple)
• 1 cup sliced mango 1/4 cup sugar
• PLUM SYRUP 1 pound red plums, pitted and sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 6 cups of ice cubes
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• Toasted coconut flakes

Preparation:

Step 1

Make pineapple-mango syrup: Put pineapple cubes, mango slices, sugar, and 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Lower heat to a simmer, and cook until pineapple and mango are softened, about 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Pour into a blender and purée into a thick syrup. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and chill until ready to use.

Step 2

Make plum syrup: Put plums, sugar, and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves, then lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes. Let sit until slightly cooled, about 10 minutes. Pour into a blender with lemon juice and purée; taste and add more lemon juice if you like. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, adding more water if needed for a thick syrup. Chill until ready to use.

Step 3

Use a shave ice machine (see below for our recommendations) to shave the ice into your cups or bowls. Using a gloved hand, rotate the cup as it’s filling with ice and sculpt the top of the ice into shape. Don’t press too hard, or you’ll compact the ice and make it more like a snow cone.

Step 4

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each serving dish. Top with shave ice, then drizzle with either syrup plus a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle with coconut flakes. Alternatively, you can also put the ice cream at the bottom of the cup.

Make ahead: Syrups, chilled, up to 5 days. Shave ice, frozen, up to 1 day (whirl again before serving to break up icy clumps).

The shave ice portions in Hawaii are very generous. Even the small size of a small shave ice is usually like the size of a soft-ball. Further, there are options that combine ice with cream to make hybrid shave ice confections.

 

 

Ice-Based Treats Around The World

No matter where you are, you can enjoy snowballs, snow cones, shaved ice, and other similar frozen treats in a variety of flavors all around the world! Enjoyed by adults and kids alike wherever the temperatures get too hot, ice-based treats are something that have been enjoyed around the world across many generations. Let’s see the most famous snow cone and shaved ice variations in the world.

1. Baobing is a popular shaved ice from China, available with a variety of toppings, most common seem to be fresh mango. What sets Baobing apart from many others is the fine quality of the ice which resembles fluffy snow that just entices you to make a decoration out of it! Atop the shaved ice, you can choose from toppings like mung beans, strawberries, grass jelly, or even a scoop of ice cream!
2. Kakigōri is a Japanese shaved ice dessert, a forerunner of Hawaiian shave ice, usually flavored with condensed milk and syrup. Similar to a snow cone, but with much smoother ice consistency, like freshly fallen snow. To make traditional kakigori you’ll need to use a hand cranked machine to spin a block of ice over an ice shaving blade. Popular flavors include lemon, matcha green tea, strawberry cheesecake, and “Blue Hawaii”!
3. The Korean version of the shaved ice is called Patbingsu. The earliest version of patbingsu was made of shaved ice red bean paste, tteok, and groundnut powder. Today’s popular ingredients of patbingsu include whipped cream, fruit cocktail, maraschino cherries, green tea powder. Due to the changing taste of the customers, patbingsu nowadays doesn’t include the famous red bean paste.
4. Halo-Halo, Filipino shaved ice variant contains as much condensed milk as shaved ice, to which are added crushed rice, jelly, jackfruit, and even cheese. In the Philippines, Halo-Halo is typically served in a bowl or tall glass. The ingredients are first placed inside the bowl or glass, followed by the shaved ice. This is then topped with leche flan, purple yam, and sprinkled with sugar.

And there are lots LOTS more! Check out the full list of shaved ice around the globe.

 

Best Home Shave Ice & Snow Cone Machines

Ready to turn boring ice into bowl after bowl of delicious ice desserts? If so, we recommend purchasing a shave ice or snow cone machine for home. They’re not very expensive, and there’s something really rewarding about churning out sweet summer treats from the comfort of your own home.

These machines don’t include syrups to flavor the shave ice, but one of the great things about shave ice and snow cones is how easy it is to make all kinds of flavors with just basic ingredients that you can get at any grocery store. You can find lots of great syrup recipes here on our site or save some time and buy ready to use syrups.

To find the best shave ice or snow cone machine for you, check out our in-depth shave ice maker reviews and snow cone maker reviews. If you’re in a hurry, here are our overall top picks.

 

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Best Shave Ice Maker

Little Snowie 2 Ice Shaver

After comparing all the available models, we recommend the Little Snowie 2 as our top overall pick. This machine produces mounds of soft snowy perfection and it uses cubes from your freezer (or bought from a store) rather than having to use blocks of ice frozen in a mold. This is great for convenience because it means you don’t have to remember to freeze ice the night before. Some ice shavers that use ice cubes instead of blocks produce very crunchy snow, but this machine doesn’t have that problem. The shaving action is also really fast so it’s perfect for making lots of shave ice quickly. It’s even used by some commercial shave ice shops. Best of all, it has nearly 600 perfect 5 star reviews so you know it’s good.

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Best Snow Cone Maker

Hawaiian Shaved Ice S700 Snow Machine

Also from Hawaiian Shaved Ice, the model S700 is similar to the S-900A, except that it uses regular ice cubes for ice instead of cylindrical ice molds. Because of this, you don’t have to pre-plan to use it, since you most likely have ice cubes ready to go in the freezer. This shaver gets our pick for best kids ice shaver, since it’s nice and easy to operate and safe for kids to use as long as they can adhere to simple safety procedures. That said, kids could still potentially cut themselves if they really tried, so always supervise them. The ice it produces is a bit courser and crunchier than some of the other shavers on our list, so if that’s not your thing you may prefer one of the options that makes fluffier snow. If you prefer your shave ice slightly crunchier, this is a good one.

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