History of Shaved ICE
The origins of Shaved Ice can be dated back to 2000 AD Japan during the Heian period. Blocks of ice during the colder months would be shaved using hand-cranked machines to spin blocks of ice over a shaving blade. The shavings would then be served with sweet syrup to the Japanese higher class during the summer. This delicacy was called Kakigori.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
SNOBALLS OR SNOWBALLS
SHAVED ICE
SNOW CONES OR SNO CONES
Depending on your geographical location you may see the term Snoballs or Snowballs. Two cities are two blame for this, Baltimore and New Orleans. Both cities claim to have invented the dessert first. During and after the Great Depression, this easy and cheap treat became known as the hard time's sundae or the penny sundae. Making snoballs or snowballs was also a way for those who fell on hard times to make extra money. For businesses, even during World War II, when milk and sugar were rationed, snowball sales remained steady.
Eric Hansen changed Shaved Ice forever and revolutionized the Shaved Ice industry. For many years, Shaved Ice had been created pretty much by hand in unsanitary conditions. During the great depression, Eric Hansen and his wife Mary created a machine that would turn shaved ice blocks into finely shaved ice. The Sno-Blitz ice-crushing machine changed the game. Still today this machine is used by businesses around the world.
Most people get them confused but there is a big difference between the two. A snowball is not a sno-cone or snow cone. A snowball is made of finely shaved ice that has the consistency of fresh powdered snow, while a sno-cone is made up of ground, crunchy ice.