There are two types of people in the world, people who love snow and people who don’t, but one thing we can all agree on is when snowed in, we all could use something to do. After the snowball fights with the neighbors, building your snow man and taking your dog for a walk, you come back home a little bit hungry and thirsty. Here are 4 things you can do with a batch of fresh, clean snow. Surprisingly there aren’t many recipes that utilize snow but the existing ones are just fantastic, here are 4 of the simplest ones to get you through.
Snow Ice-Cream. Credit: http://thesuburbansoapbox.com/
1. SNOW ICE CREAM!
This only takes about 20 minutes and the ingredients are present in most households. Now I know what you’re thinking, snow ice cream does not sound appetizing at all but I tried it last year and it was one of the best surprises of the year, it is absolutely delicious.
Ingredients:
- CLEAN snow (Recommended 8-12 cups).
- Sugar (Recommended 1 cup).
- Vanilla extract (Recommended 1 tablespoon).
- Condensed/Sweetened milk preferably but any milk will do (as it doesn’t melt, but any milk will do (Recommended 1-1.5 cups).
Instructions:
If you are unsure about how much it will snow and if it will snow enough that you can get the clean snow, you can put a clean bucket outside ahead of time and fill it up. Put the snow in a bowl, I used a normal salad bowl, keep adding sugar and vanilla slowly until you reach the desired taste. Don’t forget to stir and mix and fold all the ingredients together. Add the condensed milk and continue stirring until you reach the desired consistency (not too runny and not too solid). Condensed milk is preferred because it doesn’t melt the snow, if you use other types of milk, pour it slowly into the mix.
You can add some stuff lying around the house like sprinkles and some chocolates. Scoop into a bowl and enjoy!
2. Snow drink!
Frozen Margarita with snow. credit: http://mamadweeb.com/
This is super simple that I wouldn’t really call it a recipe. It works just as well for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Basically the snow can be a better substitute for crushed ice, it just tastes better so any cocktail you can think of, from margaritas to regular lemonade work. You can try and be creative and add multiple coloured flavours to give you a lovely colourful drink.
Simply put the snow in a cup of your choice then mix your preferred drinks with it.
3. Maple Taffy
Maple Taffy. Credit: livewellnetwork.com
A Canadian classic recipe that has been around for over 200 years! This lovely treat must be eaten quickly once it is made and can’t have leftovers. All in all takes about 25 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients:
- Maple Syrup
- Snow
- Wooden sticks or forks
Instructions:
- Heat syrup to about 112-118 C° in a cooking pan, any more and it will stiffen the end product. If you don’t have a candy thermometer to check the temperature, you can do 2 things to check if you reached the right temperature: First you can pour a small amount on the snow, if the syrup becomes runny then you still need to heat it up, if it thickens then you’re at the right temperature. The higher the temperature the thicker it gets. Another way to check is pour a small amount of syrup in cold water, if the syrup forms a firm ball then you’re good to go.
- Pour the syrup over the snow. Wait for 3-5 seconds until the syrup cools and becomes more solid
- Put the fork or wooden spoon in and twirl it till it comes out like a lollipop
- Enjoy!
4. Snow pancakes!
Snow pancakes. Credit: www.fullcircle.com
This is more of a slight modification of a classic recipe than a new one on its own. Snow pancakes look exactly the same but taste much lighter and fluffier, like you are eating little tasty air bubbles.
Ingredients:
- Snow
- Pancake batter (eggs, vanilla, sugar, milk, flour)
- Butter
Instructions:
- Make the pancake batter as usual by mixing all the ingredients together (WITHOUT THE SNOW)
- Heat frying pan and melt the butter on it
- Add snow by folding into the batter
- Pour batter into pan and make pancakes!
Enjoy, And stay warm during this snow season!
