Raspados
Eating cup after cup of this Mexican variant of shaved ice has played a significant role in many Angelenos' childhoods who were raised in the Eastern, Northeast, and Southern parts of the city. Under the unrelenting Southern California heat, it just feels right. The first step in making a rapado is for the brave merchants to purchase massive 20-pound blocks of ice and transport them around in a handcrafted wooden cart with a variety of syrups to flavor each cup. It is one of the best street foods in Los Angeles.
When a raspado is requested, the person will use a rasped or to remove some fictitious snow from the ice block and put the fluffy ice shards into a cup. Then, he or she will fill it with the syrup of your choice. While some street vendors utilize artificially flavored syrups, the more dedicated ones prepare their own syrups from scratch using real fruits. The most popular taste is typically vanilla because it is typically made with only milk, sugar, and vanilla extract.
Ingredients:
- ½ cups chopped fresh strawberries (about 1 lb.), divided
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup condensed milk (optional)
- 6 cups shaved ice
Steps:
- Put 2 cups of strawberries in a medium saucepan with 1 cup of water and the sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and strawberries are soft about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until no longer steaming hot about 10 minutes.
- Pour cooked strawberries and syrup into a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Let cool completely (you can put it in the refrigerator to speed this up).
- For each raspado, fill a 12- to 14-oz. cup or glass halfway with shaved ice and pour in about 1/3 cup strawberry syrup. Fill cup with more shaved ice and pour in another 1/3 cup syrup. Top with 2 tbsp. chopped strawberries and pour on 1 tbsp. condensed milk if you like. Serve with a spoon and/or a fat straw.
- Make ahead: Syrup, chilled, up to 5 days. Shaved ice, frozen, up to 1 day (whirl again before serving to break up icy clumps).
