Call it what you want, Shaved Ice, Shave Ice, Hawaiian Shave Ice, Snow Ball, Sno-Cone, flavored ice in it's many incarnations is always a favorite treat, especially during the warm summer months.

California Gourmet Snow is an outlet  for our beloved Hawaiian Shave Ice.  At California Gourmet Snow, we can shave your ice "Hawaiian style" or "New Orleans" style. 

In fanatical shave(d) ice, snow ball circles the debate rages over which style is superior.  The difference is mainly in how the ice is shaved.  There are also vast differences in the preferred flavors from region to region.

Hawaiian style shave (not shaved) ice is created when a solid block of ice is is rotated over a single stationary razor sharp blade.  Properly done, this creates soft, fluffy, snowy ice which melts in your mouth. Hawaiian style shavers are referrd to as "spinners" because the ice spins and the blade stays still.  In Hawaii, traditional flavors include tropical flavors such as Passion Fruit, Mango & Guava.  Azuki beans are a popular addition as is ice cream on the bottom and cream  or condensed milk on the top.  Soft shave ice holds the syrup in the fluffy flakes without sinking to the bottom.  When just the right amount of syrup is applied, the flavor clings to the ice and the different flavors will remain distinct all the way to the very bottom.  MMMMM delicious!!

New Orleans style Sno-Balls or Shaved Ice are actually quite similar in texture to Hawaiian Shave Ice- almost identical actually.  The difference is primarily in the manner in which the ice is shaved.  In this style the ice block is stationary and 3 sharp blades spin as the ice is advanced into the spinning blades.  This type of shaver is sometimes referred to as a "tractor" because of the mechanism which advances the ice into the blades.

Popular flavors in the Southeast include Wedding Cake, Barbie, Tigers Blood and dill Pickle!  Cream toppings are popular here as well as super sour spray and flavors.

In parts of the east coast- Baltimore in particular, popular flavors include Sky Blue, Spearmint, Egg Cream, Chocolate & Cola.  Here marshmallow or chocolate is the topping of choice and vanilla ice cream is also offered on the bottom.  Baltimore Snow Balls used to be the crunchy variety, but that has begun to change in recent years.

Snow Cones are a different beast entirely.  Made from crushed cubes of ice,  Snow Cones are usually crunchy and the flavored syrup tends to go straight to the bottom.  They are usually served with a straw to drink the syrup from the bottom.

There are companies that make machines that are  designed to create the soft variety of "Snow" from ice cubes instead of blocks of ice, but they vary greatly in the quality and speed of their output.  The block vs. cubes is an entirely separate debate.

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