The problem: Cousin Alex and Cousin Ryan wanted to make snow cones, but their 3-year-old electric snow cone machine broke just after it was loaded with ice cubes.
The solution: Uncle Rick and his old-timey way of making homemade snow cones. But that’s the end of this story. For the beginning, we have to travel back a long, long time ago to a street not so far away.
Around this time every year, one of the fondest and tastiest memories I have from those seven magical years we spent growing up at 110 Flamingo Street is of making homemade snow cones.
My three brothers, The Sister, and I made them most every weekend with simple items we had around the house: freezer ice, food coloring, honey, vanilla extract, hammers, and a fancy white lace pillowcase.
Now to some, these ingredients may seem to be a bit odd, but then again, so am I. Still, it was with these ingredients mixed together that we made some of the best snow cones anyone ever tasted on Flamingo Street.
The choice of ice is the most important ingredient in making a snow cone. That first year we lived on Flamingo Street, it took until the end of the summer to finally get the ice thing right.
Back in the day we didn’t have fancy ice-makers. If you wanted ice cubes, you’d used a metal tray, filled it with water, inserted the metal divider, and then placed it carefully in the freezer section of the lime green refrigerator.
On the first try we didn’t use the divider and ended up with a solid block of ice. We quickly learned that, after breaking up, a solid block of ice is good for slipping down the back of your unsuspecting brother’s shirt, but not good for making snow cones. We needed ice cubes so we tried again and this time used the divider.
A day or so later, we’d pull really hard on the metal lever; the dividers popped out, leaving behind a dozen ice cubes. Unfortunately, the cubes were still too big for snow cones. That’s where the hammers and lace pillowcase came in handy.
Why lace? It was the only pillowcase Mom and Dad never used. They matched the fancy French sheets they never used either, but using a French sheet to make snow cones would just be silly.
After dumping four trays of large ice cubes into a lace pillowcase, we beat it with hammers. Didn’t take long for us to realize two things. First, the ice was melting faster than it could be pulverized. Second, the lace pillowcase now had a bunch of holes in it. Our mistake was obvious; we needed softer ice.
That’s when we decided to use the ice collected on the inside walls of the freezer. Because we didn’t have a self-defrosting freezer, the softer freezer ice only took about a week or so to replenish itself. After quickly crushing the freezer ice in the lace pillowcase, the next step was mixing the perfect topping.
For those of you copying this recipe, please take note: don’t make the same mistakes we did. A snow cone covered in only honey will quickly become a sticky mess and is difficult to eat, but really easy to dump on the heads of brothers.
If eaten, a snow cone covered with an entire bottle of vanilla extract will make you sick.
Finally, a snow cone covered only in food coloring doesn’t taste good, and adding three additional colors doesn’t improve the taste. Using food coloring permanently stains a lace pillowcase, will drip out the bazillion holes caused by pounding hammers, staining carpet, clothing, and even drapes. (Twin Brother Mark tried to hide behind the white living room drapes, but we found him.)
So what’s the perfect recipe? Our homemade snow cones made from week-old freezer ice were topped with a dash of vanilla, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of food coloring.
It took us that entire first summer living on Flamingo Street to discover this recipe, and it’s just as good now as it was way back then. If you don’t believe me, just ask Cousin Alex or Cousin Ryan.
Just don’t ask them who told them to get their mom’s white lace pillowcase and their dad’s hammer to make snow cones.
Just like back on Flamingo Street – I’m not admitting to anything. But just in case you make the tasty icy treat this holiday weekend, you should be made aware – lace pillowcases sure have gone up in price over the last 50 years.
[Rick Ryckeley, who lives in Senoia, served as a firefighter for more than two decades and has been a weekly columnist since 2001. His email is storiesbyrick@gmail.com. His books are available at www.RickRyckeley.com.]
