Remember going to a county fair on a hot summer’s day, and cooling yourself off with a delicious snow cone? These were standard warm-weather treats for children of a certain era. Those of us who are Baby Boomers can vividly recall those ubiquitous snow cone carts. The shaved ice was scooped into paper cone cup, and you chose the flavoring.
Anything retro has become really popular. This includes snow cones, as well as many of the other things we enjoyed in our childhood.
Mini Electric Snow Cone Maker For The Home
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Now, you can have your very own mini electric snow cone maker. This is a smaller replica of those much bigger snow cone carts. Your children will love this carnival-style device. Your house guests will be impressed that you can quickly whip up real snow cones.
Of course, you don’t have to use the vintage-style sugary sweet, artificially colored syrups from your childhood. Now that we know they may not be so good for us, these syrupy flavors lose their appeal. (Or, at least they do for me.) With your own snow cone machine, you can substitute fruit puree for a much healthier snack.
This Nostalgia Electrics SCM502 Vintage Collection Old-Fashioned Snow Cone Maker measures 15.5 by 12.5 by 10.5-inches. Ice cubes are added, and then shaved, to make the ice for the cones. This machine is relatively small, so it should be easy to store when it’s not in use. It’s also portable, so it can be used in dorm rooms or in basement recreation rooms.
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Recipe for Organic Snow Cone Syrup
Thankfully, many of us didn’t have to worry about genetically modified ingredients when we were growing up. It was a much simpler time, and we could slurp our snow cones with no concerns. Nowadays, though, if you live in the United States, GMOs are found in most processed foods. Regular snow cone syrup may contain high-fructose corn syrup. Nearly all of the corn grown in the US is derived from genetically modified seed. This means foreign genes were added, to make the plants resistant to an herbicide called glyphosate.
Since I’m trying to keep a GMO-free kitchen, I buy organic or non-GMO products. Anyway, here is an easy recipe for making your own organic snow cone syrup. These are for strawberry flavored cones.
- Shaved ice
- Organic strawberry juice concentrate (available here)
- Organic sugar (optional)
- Pure spring water
If you’re adding sugar, gently heat the concentrate on the stove, and add a little sugar to the mix. Sweeten according to taste. When it’s cooled, add one part of this mixture to one part water. If you don’t use sugar, just dilute the concentrate. (You can also adjust the strength of this mixture by adding less concentrate.) Use an ice cream scoop to make cones. Then pour the homemade syrup over the ice.