Snow Cones vs. Shaved Ice
You could travel all over the world and discover all kinds of ice-based treats. Their names might be different, their flavors might vary, and you might find there are a great number of techniques used to make them, but one thing is for certain. Ice treats are loved across the globe. In Tulsa, two of the most popular varieties of these frozen desserts are snow cones and shaved ice. People sometimes use these phrases used interchangeably, but they actually describe two different treats.
How are they different? While, admittedly, they do share some similarities, the ice’s texture is where the greatest difference lies. The following will help you understand more about these famous desserts and what makes them unique.
What is a Snow Cone?
No doubt, you’ve probably eaten at least one snow cone (AKA a sno cone or snowball) in your life, especially if you avidly attend baseball games and carnivals.
These ice-based desserts are covered with a sweet, flavored syrup, and have a crunchy texture. Much of the syrup served with snow cones usually flows towards the bottom of their serving container, so the lower half of the snow cone often has more flavor than the upper portion.
They’re mostly served in a Styrofoam cup or wax paper cone. Perhaps the largest difference, however, is that snow cones are made using crushed ice which tends to stay in larger shards.
What is Shaved Ice?
Shaved ice is known by many names, depending where you are from. You might know it as Hawaiian ice or shave ice, but it all refers to this particular dessert. AD: Find Marriage & Family Services Tulsa>
Unlike snow cones, which tend to be crunchier and made with thicker ice shavings, shaved ice is a texture more like snow. It’s soft, fluffy, and holds the flavored syrup consistently throughout the ice. Often, you will find you have more variety of flavors to choose from with shaved ice than you would with a standard snow cone.
You could go for the traditional method of eating shaved ice with tropical fruit flavors such as mango, kiwi fruit, pineapple, or maybe a combination of several fruits.
Alternatively, you could choose from more unconventional flavors, such as root beer to dill pickle. Another difference is that shaved ice tends to be sold in different locations than snow cones, usually a roadside shaved ice stand, or sometimes in a mobile shaved ice truck. Instead of using crushed ice, shaved ice is quite literally shaved from a large ice block. In addition to all of this, shaved ice can be served with various toppings.
If you ever try traditional Hawaii shave ice, the cone or cup it’s served in might have vanilla ice cream at the bottom, or possibly some adzuki bean paste. In some cases, the top of the shaved ice might even be covered with sweetened condensed milk. If you have it this way, you’re eating your shaved ice with a “snow cap.”
No matter which one you prefer, if you enjoy these ice-based treats, look for a Tulsa shaved ice service near you.
