This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Desert or Dessert.’ See more responses here.
I was going to give this week a miss, not having any desert-like photos and not being a food photographer, but then I realized that I’ve never posted anything about an iconic Hawaiian treat, shave ice. Shave ice is actually Japanese in origin, called kakigōri there, and was brought to Hawaii by immigrants during the sugar plantation era.
It’s a fairly simple dessert to make. Thin ice shavings are gathered in a cup and then covered with syrup, usually fruit flavored. The shaved ice remains quite fluffy and absorbs the syrup giving a consistent flavor for the whole dish. This one was a simple strawberry flavor, but a wide variety of flavor combinations can be made with this versatile treat.
Shave ice is very refreshing and I like it, but I confess I’d still plump for ice cream given the choice.
Graham's Island 
Perfect! I am with you on the ice cream .
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Thanks. They both have their merits!
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Love the shot, Graham, but I’ve never tried the ice.
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Perhaps they have something similar in Portugal. Something to look out for perhaps, though not as good as cake!
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On the island where I grew up we called it ‘Snow cone’ and was manually shaved from a solid ice block with a metal ice scraper. A scoop of ice was served in a paper cone and squirted with red syrup which could’ve been strawberry or cherry, who knows. It was sweet, cool and refreshing!
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I guess snow cones in the US are made with crushed ice, but I think a lot of countries have variations on the shaved ice theme. It’s definitely refreshing.
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In Singapore when it was 33C & 100% humidity, I enjoyed ice jellies & ice kechang which are SE Asian versions. In that kind of heat, it’s far more refreshing than ice cream.
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I think it is more refreshing. I’m just hooked on dairy products!
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Shaved ice is too sweet for me but was enjoyable as a kid. I am with you on the ice cream 🙂
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The syrups can be very sweet, but there’s a lot of variety these days and some are really pretty good.
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It sounds refreshing!
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It’s very refreshing, more so than ice cream, which is why I think it became so popular.
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Must be😊
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I LOVE shave ice!! Good call for this week!!
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Thanks, Susanne. I like it too, but I still prefer ice cream!
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I found I like them together! Start out with shave ice then discover ice cream at the bottom. I only get it in Hawaii so that makes it even more special! Hard to find here.
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I like it with the ice cream in the bottom too.
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I’m glad you shared your refreshing Shave Ice, Graham! And it’s in a desert hue (sunset) as well!
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Thanks, Terri. I was a whisker away for skipping this week until I thought of this option.
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