Shave ice or Hawaiian shave ice is an ice-based dessert made by shaving a block of ice. While the product can resemble a snow cone, snow cones are made with crushed, rather than shaved, ice.
Shaving produces a very fine ice that appears snow-like. This extremely fine texture causes syrups added to it to be absorbed by the ice rather than simply surrounding.[1][2] A properly made shave ice product rarely requires a straw, since the flavors are in the ice and not at the bottom of the cup. Although the traditional American flavors are common, shave ice in Hawai'i is often flavored with local ingredients such as guava, pineapple, coconut cream, passion fruit, li hing mui, lychee, kiwi fruit and mango. Hawaiian shave ice is traditionally served in a conical paper or plastic cup with multiple flavors and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and/or azuki bean paste at the bottom of the cup. Sweetened condensed milk drizzled over the top is sometimes called a "snow cap." This style of shave ice is the signature dessert of Haleiwa on the north shore of the island of Oahu.
Shave ice traces its history to Japan, where it is known as kakigÅri and dates back to the Heian Period.[3] "Shave ice enjoyed world-wide popularity after Japanese plantation workers immigrated to the Hawaiian islands and took their traditional dessert with them, creating shave ice from large blocks of ice and using Japanese swords which were family heirlooms."[4]
In 1934, inventor Ernest Hansen designed an "ice block shaver" in New Orleans, Louisiana.[5]
"Snow ice"âcream, milk, water, sugar and fruit, frozen and then shaved and served in conesâis popular in Taiwan and Indonesia and making inroads into the United States.[6]