Raspado

Shaved ice is a large family of ice-based desserts made of fine shavings of ice or finely crushed ice and sweet condiments or syrups. Usually, the syrup is added after the ice has been frozen and shaved—typically at the point of sale; however, flavoring can also be added before freezing. The dessert is consumed worldwide in various forms and ways. Shaved ice can also be mixed with large quantities of liquid to produce shaved ice drinks.

Many shaved ices are confused with "Italian ice", which is derived from the similar Italian dessert known as " granita". However, Italian ice, also known as "water ice", often has the flavoring (fruit juice or other ingredients, like almond) incorporated into the sugared water before it is frozen. Shaved ice—especially highly commercial shaved ice (such as that found in food chains or from street vendors)—is often flavored after the ice has been frozen and shaved. Snow cones are an example of shaved ice that is flavored after production.

History

The first documented "shaved ice" dessert was made in 27 B.C.E. The Roman Emperor Nero sent slaves to collect snow from nearby mountains that he then flavored with a fruit and honey mixture.

In imperial Japan, the dessert was also a treat reserved for royalty, as it was made of natural ice formed during the coldest period of winter, which was stored in icehouses. This made it very rare, and a supreme luxury available only to Heian period nobles; ordinary people could not afford it. is believed to be a Filipino indigenized version of the Japanese class of desserts, originating from prewar Japanese migrants into the Philippine islands. The earliest versions were composed only of cooked red beans or mung beans in crushed ice with sugar and milk, a dessert known locally as . Over the years, more native ingredients were added, resulting in the development of the modern . Some authors specifically attribute the invention of to the 1920s or 1930s Japanese migrants in the Quinta Market of Quiapo, Manila, due to its proximity to the now defunct Insular Ice Plant, which was the source of the city's ice supply. As Japanese people immigrated to Hawaii, they brought this tradition with them. Like Rome and Japan, in Hawaii warm areas are close enough to snow-capped mountains that snow can be brought into the warm areas without melting.

Regions

Shave ice varieties can be found around the globe with Asia being a particularly popular region.

Americas

In Latin America shaved ice desserts have influences from North American cultures, in many of these locations the Spanish name is either , or its variations; ''raspa'', ''raspao'', ''raspadinha'' (' is Spanish for "scrape"; hence ''raspado'' means "scraped", referring to the ice, therefore also meaning ''shaved''), or , ''granizada'', ''granizo'' (from , meaning hail stone).

North America and the Caribbean

*In Canada and most of the contiguous United States, shaved ice, commonly known as "Snow cones" or "Snowballs", consist of crushed or shaved ice topped with sweet fruit flavored syrup. Within the United States, several regional variations are prominent: New Orleans snowballs include a topping of fruit flavored syrup or a fruit-cream syrup mixture, and Baltimore snowballs frequently include a fruit flavored syrup and are then topped additionally with marshmallow cream. A Sno-ball is the New Orleans variant. It can be served with syrup, ice cream, condensed milk, and a variety of toppings.
**In the United States Virgin Islands (the American islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas, St.John, Water Island located in the Caribbean) a similar desert is called "fraco" (pronounced ''fray-co'') -- sometimes spelled "fraico".

*In Cuba, as well as in many Cuban neighborhoods in the United States, shaved ice is known as after the Spanish word for hailstones. In Miami, granizados are often sold in conjunction with other frozen confections in ice cream trucks and stands throughout the city. A classic Cuban flavoring for granizados is anise, made from extracts of the star anise spice.
*In the Dominican Republic and many Dominican neighborhoods, snow cones are called , with being the Spanish word for "cold", or alternately called "Yun Yun".
*In Hawaii, they are known as "Hawaiian shave ice" or just "Shave ice", and often resemble East Asian versions of shaved ice, with condensed milk, adzuki beans or mochi balls often added as toppings, while a scoop of vanilla ice cream is common at the bottom of the cone.
*In Mexico, as well as in some Spanish-speaking communities of the Southwestern United States, Texas, and California, a finely shaved and syruped ice is called a "raspa", or "raspado". ''Raspados'' come in a wide range of fruit flavors and classic Mexican flavors, including leche (sweetened milk with cinnamon), picosito (lemon and chili powder), chamoy (fruits and chili sauce, known as chamoyada), cucumber

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