Ingredients
Ice
- 1large block of clean ice
- or finely crushed ice, packed
Syrups
- 400 gsugar
- 400 mlwater
- fruit: tamarind, guanábana, maracuyá, strawberry, or grosella
To finish
- condensed milk
- a pinch of salt in the tamarind syrup
Equipment
- a hand ice scraper
- plastic cups or paper cones
Directions
- Freeze water in a large container to make a solid block. Take it out and let it temper for 10 minutes before scraping. Ice straight from the freezer is too hard and it shatters instead of shaving into snow.
- Make the syrups first: boil the sugar and water for 5 minutes into a base syrup.
- Add the fruit to the hot syrup off the heat and let it infuse until cool, then strain it. Infusing off the heat keeps the fresh fruit flavour rather than cooking it out.
- Chill every syrup thoroughly before you start scraping. Pack the snow into a cup or a cone as you go, pressing lightly. Pack it firm enough to hold but do not compress it into a solid lump, or the syrup runs off the outside.
- Heap it above the rim into a dome. Pour the syrups over generously, one or several, letting them soak down through the snow. Use far more syrup than seems reasonable. Ice absorbs a great deal and an under-dressed raspao is just cold water.
- Turn the cup as you pour so the syrup goes in all round rather than down one side. Pour a thick stream of condensed milk over the top, on top of the fruit syrup.
- Serve immediately with a spoon and a straw. It collapses within minutes, which is why it is scraped to order and never made ahead.
Technique
- Grosella, tamarind and guanábana are the most distinctly Panamanian flavours.
- The block is kept insulated under cloth and sacking, which works surprisingly well.
- It is street food rather than something made at home.
Substitutions
- A domestic ice shaver, or a food processor pulsed briefly for a coarser result.
- Bottled fruit syrups, which are widely sold.
Variations
- With several syrups layered in stripes.
- Without condensed milk, for a lighter version.
- Minuta or raspado, the same idea across Central America.
History
Shaved ice scraped from a block and drenched in fruit syrup and condensed milk, sold from painted carts in city plazas.
Frequently asked questions
What is Raspao?
Raspao is a dessert from Panama: shaved ice with fruit syrups and condensed milk. Shaved ice scraped from a block and drenched in fruit syrup and condensed milk, sold from painted carts in city plazas.
How long does Raspao take to make?
Raspao takes 20 min of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 cups. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Raspao?
Yes, within limits. A domestic ice shaver, or a food processor pulsed briefly for a coarser result. Bottled fruit syrups, which are widely sold.
What is the most important thing to get right in Raspao?
Freeze water in a large container to make a solid block. Take it out and let it temper for 10 minutes before scraping. Ice straight from the freezer is too hard and it shatters instead of shaving into snow.
