How To Make Snow Ice Cream

Growing up, I spent winter vacations in Vermont and learned to love the annual ritual of making snow cream with freshly fallen snow. All of the grandchildren would set a bowl out on my grandparents’ front stoop to collect falling snow, and my mother would whisk up a creamy base to fold into our stockpiles to transform it into sweet snow cream.

Living in Atlanta as an adult has made me appreciate this ritual even more, as we count ourselves lucky if we get a single snowstorm. Sharing the tradition with my own children has taught me a few tricks for making this annual treat more flavorful and longer-lasting than I remember.

This ephemeral treat, made from fresh snow and sweetened condensed milk, makes no pretenses about what it is. The combination of supple snow and vanilla-sweetened cream makes for a mixture that feels like a snow cone but tastes like vanilla ice cream.

The key ingredient in snow cream is, you guessed it, snow! Since it’s not something you can run out and buy, you’ve got to be ready when the weather strikes. I get pretty excited at the sight of any flurries here in the South and immediately place a bowl on our porch to collect freshly falling snow as soon as possible for snow ice cream. Chilling your snow-collection bowl helps slow the snow’s melt as you bring it inside, so if you’ve got the forethought, place a bowl in the freezer before your next snowstorm to prepare.

Before bringing your snow catch inside, measure out the remaining ingredients for your snow ice cream. Once you bring the snow inside, the clock is ticking. Pack the snow into measuring cups as you would brown sugar to make sure you have the proper amount of snow since it will melt once you add the dairy. Placing your mixing bowl over an ice bath also helps to prevent the snow from melting too quickly.

No snow? You can still enjoy snow ice cream by finely crushing ice with a few pulses in the food processor. Work with one cup small cubes and quickly pulse. A sno-cone machine also produces the finely shaved ice that snow ice cream requires.

Should you have any concerns about possible pollutants in your snow, scientists suggest that the longer the snowstorm, the safer the late-falling snow will be. Avoid collecting snow off of grass, roads, or roofs, as they may contain dirt. I’ve found that placing a bowl on an elevated, level surface is the safest way to collect fresh snow.

Read more: Snow Is Delicious, but Is It Dangerous to Eat?

The snow ice cream my grandma made for us was a mixture of raw egg, sugar, and cream that she whipped before pouring over the ice cream. As a mom with two young children, I try to limit their consumption of raw egg to the occasional cookie-dough tasting. Instead, sweetened condensed milk, an ingredient I seem to always have on hand but hardly use, replaces the egg, sugar, and cream in one fell swoop. A little vanilla extract and some sprinkles make the hardest part of this treat collecting the snow.