Yep, we totally made snow cream when snowed in in Chatham County. I'm quite shocked that you missed out on this in northern climes. It's one of the only redeeming features of snow, IMO.

Oh, I forgot the other use for snow during a storm. We collected snow and melted it in pots to make water with which to flush the toilets. (I think we had a gas stove but an electric water pump.) Yes, power outages and snow have a LTR here in central N.C.

you forgot to say it tastes like winter in a spoon! :-)

snow cream is.....um.......interesting. sure doesn't taste like ice cream, does it? :)

but i'd like to put in a shameless plug for mayfield's mint chocolate chip. best ice cream ever. seriously.

I saw that in the store just last week! And I too have never made snow cream, despite seeing more than my fair share of snow in my lifetime. I always thought of snow cream as something that Laura Ingalls Wilder would do, not me :-)

pinky, and you're originally from up north, right? it seems like the northern people -- the ones who should really have invented snow cream -- aren't the ones really participating in the snow cream phenomenon.

maybe it's because they're too busy SURVIVING the snow and have more important things to do than make cute little desserts.

like building snow forts. you can't underestimate the importance of a good snow fort.

You nailed it, Christa. I was too busy trying not to DIE every winter to think about eating that destructive precipitation with some sugar and dairy products!

I swear, I just had a vivid memory of brushing the snow off my car. With a BROOM. Just trying to not slide under the car was quite a challenge.

In urban areas of the north, snow is filthy. My mother would have had a heart attack if we tried to eat that stuff. Would you scoop rainwater out of the gutter and drink it? That's why most people in the northeast don't make snow cream.

We DID make snow cream and I grew up in Kentucky. And I had totally forgotten about it until I read your post. So maybe is is a semi-Southern thing.

I grew up in Asheville (plenty of snow) but never heard of snow cream until ~2000 when we had a bunch of big snows around here. My neighbor gave me a recipe, along with his grandmother's admonition never to make snow cream from the first snow of the year.

The snow cream was surprisingly yummy. I seem to recall that it included snow, milk, sugar, and vanilla. I'm sure that the textures will vary in the extreme -- depending on the temperature and type of snow.

Certain gelatos from Francesca's remind me of snow cream.

No snow cream here in Massachusetts but it sounds good. Can you send me some? :)

I've never had snow cream, but I have to second Brian's shout-out to Mayfield Mint Choc Chip. Other brands *used* to be good, with chocolate shavings instead of big hunks, and in fact I remember when Edy's changed to "new! improved! bigger chips!" which for me translates to "bad! sucks! where are my chocolate shavings?!" I did a happy dance when Mayfield obtained shelf space in my store.

Another nod to your Southern theory, Christa: I had snow cream several times at my good friend Dee's house growing up; her family was from South Carolina. How very odd.

I just recently heard of Snow Cream from a Mayfield advertisement on TV. I was very curious as to what it was, so I decided to look for it at the grocery. I found it and proceded to read what it tasted like, but saw nothing of that on the box. I thought I would look it up to try and find out more about it before making a purchase. I am from the south so we don't see a lot of snow. I plan to buy some Snow Cream later on today. I'll let you know what I think.

Lace