Snow cream, snow milk, or snow ice cream. No matter what you call it, It is such a wonderful traditional recipe from years gone by. Mother would call, “Girls, its snowing and no sleet, go bundle up to play and collect some snow for me and I’ll make some snow cream for us all. Oh we would all call out “yay!” as we ran to put on layers of clothing and our warmest clothes. Mother would laugh as excited children run to the kitchen in their winter coats, boots, and warm mittens and grab bowls and cups to set out in the snow as the flakes begin to gently fall around them. “Don’t get it from the ground now, only fresh in the bowls”, she would remind us all.
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Snow Cream While We Play
Off we go onto the slippery icy porch. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The old screen door would go as we went, only the oldest remembering not to slam it as we rushed out to play.
Snow begins to fill up in the bowls and laughter rings out in the now sleeping garden. Snowballs fly and children squeal trying to dodge the flying snow. Rosy noses and cheeks from the bite of old Jack Frost turn to mother’s call. “It’s time to come inside children. And don’t forget your bowls.” Little feet rush to the porch, delighted eyes see the delicious snow that has piled up in the vessels. Little tongues lick frosty lips in expectation of what is to come snow ice cream!
Snow Cream – Ice Cream That’s Worth The Wait
Fresh newspapers spread on the floor where little boots and icy mittens lay in a row. Momma gathers the cups and bowls, she has delicious custard that has been made and cooled just waiting for our arrival with our containers of snow. “Go change now, you’ll catch a cold”, She’d call out to us all, and off we would patter. We warm ourselves by the coal fire, shivering as we wait, quilts around our shoulders fresh clothes and dry stockings on our feet.
We can hear the spoon scraping against the bowl as she adds the fluffy snow to her cold custard. It won’t be long now! We can’t help but giggle knowing soon the sweet goodness will be ours to taste. She calls us and off we run, dropping our quilts and running to get our own cup or bowl of the sweet cold goodness. She looks down at us and smiles asking, “What do you say?” “Please may I have some snow cream?” She nods at us with a happy grin at our good manners and hands us our share. “Thank you! we’d call out. Oh, momma sure knew how to make things good. We trotted off to our blankets once again to fight the chill as we filled our insides with the winter itself.
What Is Snow Cream Made Of?
It is a creamy custard mixed in with fluffy snow to make a soft serve kind of ice cream.
Can You Make Snow Cream With The First Snow?
You can but it may be cleaner to wait for an hour or so before you begin collecting. Make sure you don’t just scrape it off of the ground but place a bowl or pot out that is clean to collect it?
Is It Safe To Eat Snow Cream?
Yes, just make sure the snow is clean and fresh. Light fluffy snow works best without sleet. Make sure that the snow is not contaminated with anything and is white and clean.
Can I Make Snow Cream Non- Dairy?
I don’t know, we have never tried. Try using coconut cream (not milk) as a substitute and see how it turns out. Let us know!
Is Snow Cream Gluten-Free?
Yes it is.
What Flavor Is Snow Cream?
Mom always seemed to make vanilla but you could make it any flavor that you would like.
What You Will Need For Snow Cream
- Stock Pot or large bowl to gather snow
- Large spoon
- Double boiler or a metal bowl to fit inside another pan like a double boiler
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Bowls or cups to serve
- Spoons to eat with
Snow Cream Recipe
2 cups of fresh heavy cream
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
3/4 to a cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla or another flavor you prefer
1 large pot or bowl of fresh snow (4 quarts or about a gallon) snow ice cream will reduce by about half when you add it to the custard so this will make a quick melting 2 quarts at the end).
Directions:
With a whisk or mixer beat your eggs and place in a double boiler or metal bowl on top of your small pan with water. Turn on a pan and add eggs, sugar, and salt. Stir constantly to make sure that the sugar melts, then pour in your cream. Continue to stir constantly and you will notice the custard will begin to stick to the back of your spoon this will not take long. Maybe 4 to 5 minutes. When it sticks to your spoon using hot pan holders, remove the hot bowl or the top pan from heat and set it aside on a trivet to cool to room temperature. Add your vanilla. This is the longest part of the process, the waiting, but snow ice cream is well worth the wait. Momma always would sit her custard in the snow in a covered bowl to make it go faster for her. When your custard is cool bring in your snow. Pour in a bit of your custard, then stir. Continue to add and stir until the consistency and taste are to your liking. Serve your snow cream immediately. This does not freeze well as ice cream but you can put in ice cube trays or popsicle trays to make treats for later but it will freeze as a hard block otherwise.
Grandma's Snow Cream Recipe
Grandma's snow cream is such a wonderful part of childhood.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of fresh heavy cream
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 3/4 to a cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla or another flavor you prefer
- 1 large pot or bowl of fresh snow (4 quarts or about a gallon) snow ice cream will reduce by about half when you add it to the custard so this will make a quick melting 2 quarts at the end).
Instructions
With a whisk or mixer beat your eggs and place in a double boiler or metal bowl on top of your small pan with water. Turn on a pan and add eggs, sugar, and salt. Stir constantly to make sure that the sugar melts, then pour in your cream. Continue to stir constantly and you will notice the custard will begin to stick to the back of your spoon this will not take long. Maybe 4 to 5 minutes. When it sticks to your spoon using hot pan holders, remove the hot bowl or the top pan from heat and set it aside on a trivet to cool to room temperature. Add your vanilla. This is the longest part of the process, the waiting, but snow ice cream is well worth the wait. Momma always would sit her custard in the snow in a covered bowl to make it go faster for her.
When your custard is cool bring in your snow. Pour in a bit of your custard, then stir. Continue to add and stir until the consistency and taste are to your liking.
Serve your snow cream immediately. This does not freeze well as ice cream but you can put in ice cube trays or popsicle trays to make treats for later but it will freeze as a hard block otherwise.
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