When the soaring temperatures of summer seem set to linger, little hits the spot quite like a good frozen treat. When it’s really hot out, though, a scoop of ice cream is only refreshing until the heaviness of the snack sets in. And snow cones and shaved ice, with their traditional technicolor syrups, hardly look or taste like real food. Right in the middle, though, straddling the line between creamy and fruity, is a traditional Mexican treat called raspado, with plenty of ice to cool you down.
The name itself hints at what the dessert is like, with the Spanish word “raspado” translating to “scraped.” At its base, a raspado is shaved ice, but at its best it is nothing like the cloying neon treats you’ve likely had. Traditional flavorings run the gamut, from fresh fruit sauces and creamy condensed milk to additions that might seem even more unusual to the typical snow cone eater, like tamarind, lime juice, chile powder, and chamoy — a sauce made with pickled fruits, chiles, and citrus.
Raspado is a Mexican dessert you need to try, thanks to its wide variety of flavors that extend far beyond what you’d expect from a run-of-the-mill snow cone stand. This frozen treat plays first and foremost with sweetness, but the creamy, tangy, and even spicy additions book it a place on the list of the best cold snacks for summer. Depending on where you are, however, it may not be easy to get your hands on one.
Making raspado at home is worth the effort
If you happen to live somewhere like Tucson, Arizona, plugging the word “raspado” into a search engine should be all it takes to find a shop that will serve you up one of these frozen treats. Elsewhere, however, in areas without the same cultural connection to Mexico, it may be harder to find. You can try searching for the treat by different names — in other parts of Latin America similar dishes are called yukis, cholados, or copos — but you also might need to make it for yourself.
Fortunately, making shaved ice at home isn’t as hard as it sounds. A hand-cranked ice shaver on Amazon will only run you a little over $20. Once you’ve got that part figured out, it’s all down to how you want to flavor it. Fresh fruits like mango, pineapple, strawberry — or whatever you like, really — can be diced and added to the mix or cooked down into sauces to drizzle over the top. For the most decadent experience, you won’t want to miss a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk, or condensed coconut milk to keep things vegan. And the more adventurous out there can play with other ingredients like chile powder, Tajin, and chamoy. Alternatively, you can make shaved ice from real fruit simply by freezing the fruits and microplaning them, adding freshness while also keeping your raspado extra cold.
Ultimately, when the mercury is high and the sun is beating down, nothing hits the spot like a raspado. Fresh, fruity, and decadent without being heavy, it’s the perfect treat to beat the summer heat.
