Having recently experienced a rare 7.5-inch snowfall in our northeastern North Carolina town of Edenton, I am still a bit giddy. Although we had bright sunshine, and then some cold rain a couple of days after the snowfall, there are still patches of snow lingering around a week later. What made this snow event even more unusual is that instead of the wet snow we often get, this snow was exceptionally light and fluffy due to temperatures well below the freezing point.
And as every Southerner knows, that kind of snow makes the very best SNOW CREAM! I say Southerner because I have found that most Northerners have never heard of snow cream! (Until they migrate south, that is.) Some of them mention drizzling maple syrup over snow (which also sounds delicious), but they have never eaten snow cream. I suppose that down here in the southern regions, we never get enough snow that we tire of it. So, it’s always a reason to celebrate! And snow cream is the quintessential frozen treat that caps off our glee. (The photo, above, is my snow cream served over my homemade strawberry blueberry pie with a drizzle of blueberry sauce. Yum!)
(The illustration, above, is a detail from Marmot Hill’s painting by John Falter entitled “Frosty in the Freezer”.)
Even more rare than significant snowfall here in northeastern North Carolina, is snowfall in southeastern North Carolina where my grandparents lived in Swansboro, NC. I remember one summer day of my childhood when my dear grandmother opened her big deep-freeze freezer and retrieved a bowl of snow she had kept since the previous winter’s big snowfall! And although it had turned a bit icy, it was still delicious and miraculous to eat snow cream in July!
So…the next time you get a lovely, fluffy snowfall, do yourself a favor and try this
Snow Cream recipe—
Ingredients:
-14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk. (Chilled if possible. When winter looms, I try to keep a can stored in our refrigerator just in case!)
-1 tsp of pure vanilla
-a pinch of salt
-about 12 heaping cups full of clean, fresh (preferably fluffy) snow. Either set a large bowl outside to collect falling flakes during an active snowstorm (the preferred method to avoid any contaminants,) or scoop up clean snow from a shady area before it melts and gets icy.
Directions:
1-Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt
2- Gently fold in the freshly collected snow.
Serve immediately!
Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now, and remember:
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and when winter dumps snow on your head,
Keep Calm and Make Snow Cream!