Product Code Database
Shave ice or Hawaiian shave ice is an ice-based dessert made by shaving a block of ice and flavoring it with syrup and other sweet ingredients. On Hawai‘i Island, it is also called "ice shave".
In contrast, a snow cone, a similar American dessert, is made with crushed ice rather than shaved ice. The thin ice shavings of shave ice allow for the flavored syrups to be absorbed completely instead of sinking to the bottom. Hawaiian shave ice is derived from a similar ice-based dessert from Japan called kakigōri and thus involves similar production methods.
Shave ice is characteristically served in a conical paper or plastic cup with flavored syrups poured over the top with additional elements like ice cream, azuki beans, or condensed milk. Shave ice syrups in Hawaii are often flavored with local ingredients such as guava, pineapple, Coconut milk, passionfruit, li hing mui (Chinese plums), lychee, kiwifruit, and mango.
During the early 1900s of the Meiji period, the development of new technologies allowed ice to be cheaply made and stored, allowing for greater consumption among various types of people. Around the same time, sugar plantations prolifically developed across Hawaii, and many people from Asian countries relocated to the Hawaii islands in hopes of earning a steady income. The Japanese were among this immigrant population and brought with them their traditional ice-based dessert called kakigōri.
Hawaiian shave ice sales began to rise in the 1950s and 1960s with the arrival of Californian surfers. By the 1990s, shave ice stores, such as Oahu's Matsumoto Shave Ice and Waiola Shave Ice stores, garnered the attention of international visitors. Matsumoto's has been featured in news networks all around the world including Food Network and the Travel Channel. It can have wait times of over half an hour, and sell more than 1,000 shave ice treats a day and 326,400 shave ices in a year. While shave ice originated in Japan and gained popularity in Hawaii, it has spread to other parts of the world. In Europe, especially in Berlin, shave ice gained popularity due to features in newspapers. In 2023, it was also featured on the German TV channel ZDF at ZDF Fernsehgarten.
Traditional syrups are made from sugar, flavoring extracts, and additional coloring elements with acid incorporated to enhance preservation. Syrups are often flavored with local ingredients such as banana, pineapple, lilikoi (passionfruit), guava, lychee, kiwifruit, mango, and coconut cream, and are found in other regions around the world, such as in bingsu (Korean), tshuah-ping (Taiwanese), and halo-halo (Filipino) shave ice variants. Bubble gum, vanilla, lemon-lime, green tea, strawberry, cherry, grape, watermelon, Coca-Cola, root beer, and fruit punch have also been incorporated into syrups for shave ice. New syrup flavors are constantly being developed including more unusual ones such as li hing mui (salty dried Chinese plums), melona, ginger, and pickled mango. These syrups are often quite vibrant with certain colors traditionally representing specific flavors, such as blue for coconut. These color-flavor associations enable customers to order syrups by color instead of using their flavors for reference. When many different colors of syrups are combined, it is referred to as “kalakoa” which means calico in Hawaiian.
A container (cup, paper cone, or bowl) should be placed under the shaving machine to collect the ice flakes, and "unders" (ingredients for the bottom such as ice cream and Adzuki bean) should be added before shaving. The ice block will then be carefully inserted into the shave ice machine on top of sharp blades. For some machine models, blades should be adjusted to avoid chunky ice flakes that are used in snow cones and preserve the fluffy texture of true shaved ice. The machine can be activated either by button or foot pedal. While the machine runs, the operator rotates the container and shapes the ice flakes with one hand to get the intended size and consistency. Once the ice flakes are ready, different kinds of syrup (artificially or naturally flavored) will be added on the surface. Some shave ice stands also punch holes with hard sticks in the ice so that the syrup can reach the bottom. Finally, toppings such as condensed milk and fruit are added for more flavor.
|
|
