Homemade Shaved Ice
Photo credit: Keith McDuffee via Flickr

When it’s hot outside, all we can think about is how to quench our thirst and cool down. There are many different ways to do this, and one of them is to prepare a fruit shaved ice. This kind of shaved ice is a savior when it comes to hot weather, and it is considered healthy and refreshing because it does not contain fats or proteins – only fruit juices.

It will “work” only if you make shaved ice at home, without adding unhealthy preservatives. Therefore, if you watch your figure and do not eat ice cream, you can make shaved ice. Store sell fruit desserts that are filled with additives and preservatives (like coloring agents and acidity regulators) that are unnecessary (especially for children).

Shaved fruit ice is a dessert not only for children – adults can also enjoy this treat.  Plus, you can eat it year round and not just during a hot season. Today, snow cone machines are manufactured for preparation of shaved ice. DiligentChef goes over this type of equipment and how to use it. However, if you want, you can make this dessert yourself without using a snow cone machine.

Making shaved ice at home is not difficult; you can use fresh, canned or frozen berries and fruits. Usually, fruit ice is frozen in special molds (for example, for ice). Shaved ice can be either one color or multicolor.  Mashed berries or juice of various fruits and berries are also used for coloring.

Recipes for Snow Cones

Here is an example of a very simple recipe. You will need a special mold – to freeze ice-cream – and a fruit juice. O,r you can use other containers such as yogurt cups, regular plastic cups, etc.

First you need to pour berry juice into a container and put it in the freezer. When the liquid freezes a little, put a stick in the middle of it to hold your treat. After that, you should freeze the dessert completely.

To get the ice from the container, immerse it into warm water for a few seconds. Such a simple dessert will be even tastier if you do it from a fresh, homemade juice rather than from a store-bought juice.

Another recipe for making such a delicacy as shaved ice at home is to make it with berries. Add sugar to the berries, wait until they draw juice, mix it all together and pour into glasses, then freeze them.

Shaved Ice with Sugar Syrup

You can prepare this fruit delicacy with sugar syrup. Here is what you will need:

  • 17 ounces of berries
  • 3.5 ounces of sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and water

First you need to pour sugar into a saucepan and pour boiling water over it. When the water boils and the sugar dissolves completely, the syrup is ready. Next, you need to wash the berries, mash them with a spoon, add lemon juice and stir it all. After that, you need to add chilled sugar syrup and stir it again, pour the entire mixture into molds and put them in the freezer.

Yogurt Shaved Ice

Another delicious dessert can be made with fruit-and-yogurt ice. To do this, you need:

  • 0.5 liter of apple juice
  • 150 ml of natural yogurt
  • Fruit juice

Whisk yogurt, add apple juice and mix it all together.  Pour the mixture into molds, fill them by 1/3, half or fill them up (depending on how many layers you need). If you are planning to make several layers, you should first freeze the layer on the bottom, then add a next one. They recommend combining yogurt layers only with juices or making a mixture with yogurt from the very beginning.

Gelatin Ice dessert

To prepare this treat, you will need:

  • 10.5 ounces of sugar
  • 400 ml of water
  • 250 g puree of fruit
  • 6 g of gelatin
  • Lemon juice to taste

First, put 3 tablespoons of gelatin into a pan, pour chilled boiled water over it and leave it untouched for 30 minutes. Add sugar to the rest of the water, bring it to a boil and add gelatin with water. Boil the mixture for 2-3 minutes (stirring it constantly), then add the fruit puree and stir it again. The mass must be filtered through a sieve. When the mixture is cool, add lemon juice, stir it and pour it into molds. After that, you can place them in the freezer.

We hope our simple recipes will help you survive in any heat and put you in a good mood. Enjoy!