Kakigori – shaved ice
One of the most monumental scene in Memoirs of a Geisha was when Chiyo met the Chairman for the first time. It was also the first time she tasted cherry flavored shaved ice. The picture of her savoring that ball of snow flavored red is sweetness. Kakigōri is a Japanese ice dessert that’s popular during hot summer days. We can anticipate eating Kakigōri really soon, that is if the weather would stop acting unpredictably cold again.
Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry,lemon, green tea, grape, melon, “blue-hawaii” sweet plum, and colorless syrup. Some shops provide colorful varieties by using two or more different syrups. To sweeten Kakigōri, condensed milk is often poured on top of it. It is nearly identical to a snow cone but can have a slightly rougher consistency and a spoon is almost always used. The traditional way of making kakigori involves using a hand cranked machine to spin a block of ice over an ice shaving blade. However, electric ice shavers are most often used; though street vendors can still be seen hand-shaving ice blocks in the summer.
Make your own shaved ice: Kakigori with poached apricot
In addition to the streets, Kakigori is also sold in festivals, convenience stores, coffee shops, restaurants; during the hot summer months Kakigōri is sold virtually everywhere in Japan. Some coffee shops serve it with ice cream and sweet bean paste. Convenience stores may also sell it already flavored and packaged similar to ice cream.
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