It’s fast approaching the time when the piragua men (piragüeros, if you wanna be fancy) will be on every corner in Bushwick, so here’s a primer for the uninitiated. A piragua is, in short, a Puerto Rican sno cone. A man pushes around a big cart with a huge block of ice on it, from which he scrapes a plastic cup-full of ice shavings. (I have been known to turn up my nose at carts with electric grinders: part of the fun is in the process.) Then on either side of the ice block are several different flavors of syrup — I avoid flavors such as “blue flavor” and head for the naturals: parcha (passionfruit), or tamarindo. He pours your chosen flavor all over the ice, jams a little red straw in it, and hands you the whole sloshing mess. One dollar, please.
Get one, sit on a curb or your stoop, and chomp and slurp your way to the bottom of the cup. Don’t go wash up right away — sticky hands means you’ve had a good time.
My half-eaten piragua de tamarindo.
Mario June 6th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
As a kid growing up in New York, I was told by my Italian-American parents not to eat those sno cones made from shaved ice blocks. Why? First, they were “clearly” inferior to Italian ices. But also because some (all?) of those blocks of ice were treated with chemicals, possibly designed to retard melting.I do not know if this is true. But I have always avoided these treats that Jeremy likes.
Jeremy June 6th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I asked around, and a physicist friend says it’s unlikely to be true that a melting-retardant chemical is added to block ice that would be edible or cost-efficient for something like sno cones. Besides, a giant block of ice is just fine for a few hours in the heat under an umbrella, even on hot summer days — it has a lot less surface area than crushed or cubed ice. More likely, Mario, your parents wanted you to eat Italian ices (also for sale on Bushwick street carts!) and not the competing Puerto Rican “version.”
Mario June 6th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Physicist??!!!
The question is still not answered. Are there chemicals in the block of ice (for one reason or another). If so, what are they? Maybe you know someone from the FDA.
Jeremy June 6th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
The answer is PROBABLY NOT!
Mary June 6th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
the questions is how long does it take a block of ice to melt and whats in those metal pushcarts to prevent it from melting.
these seem better than those icees kids get at the corner store – those things are sticky.
Jeremy June 6th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Now, the metal carts also might have extra ice or a refrigerant inside, but the fact is, just like ice sculptures, a massive hunk of ice is big and cold enough to keep frozen for a few hours in the heat. In Puerto Rico the carts are enclosed in glass with a little roof, which might help insulate even better.