From toffee to pancakes, and of course ice-cream, the white stuff is more useful in the kitchen than you might expect - as long as it lasts, and it's clean.
If snow is romantic (well, before the transport misery and power cuts set in) then cooking with snow is even more so. You can pretend you're in The Little House on the Prairie, living on a homestead, hunting moose and riding huskies. But it wasn't in rural America or Canada that I first encountered a recipe that uses snow, it was right here in the UK.
In Denis Cotter's brilliant For the Love of Food, there's a Canadian-inspired recipe for snow cakes. He calls for "fresh fluffy" snow, which is folded into fine cornmeal, dolloped into muffin cases and baked for 15 minutes. Topped with butter and maple syrup, these are surprisingly tasty with a crusty, crumbly texture - and a lot of fun to make.
If you don't mind getting strange looks from your neighbours, there's something magical about going out into the garden and gathering the sparkling stuff for use in the kitchen; it has an ethereal quality, like frozen bubble-bath for fairies. Cotter says: "[In] the early 60s ... and before that, it would have been a practical matter. No indoor water or frozen water pipes meant that to make tea or breakfast bread involved going out to scoop up some snow. I don't think many people find themselves in that situation now, so it has become a bit of a cutesy folklore thing."
Another cutesy recipe that's still popular after 200-odd years is maple taffy, also known as sugar on snow. It's made by pouring hot maple syrup on to snow so that it sets instantly. My first attempt left me with a slushie rather than a toffee, so it's important to heat the syrup to the correct temperature, or at least until little bubbles appear. Twirl it around a lolly stick or fork, and eat quickly while still soft, as it will harden.
Maple taffy is traditionally eaten with sour pickles, crackers, doughnuts and coffee, which cut through its intense sweetness. In parts of Canada and US, "sugar on snow parties" are hosted to celebrate the harvesting of the maple sap by maple syrup companies, privately owned sugar houses and families with children.
Another kids' favourite is snow ice-cream, and this three-ingredient recipe from Paula Deen is a modern classic. Made by simply combining condensed milk and vanilla extract with snow, this instant sweet treat reminded me of old-fashioned seaside ice-creams. The correct ratio of snow to milk is necessary though, otherwise it will become runny.
The only British recipe I found was for snow pancakes: normal pancakes with snow added to make them light. They look and taste the same, but have a crispy texture and many more holes on the surface. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that snow was mixed into pancake batter after the second world war when eggs were in short supply. However, other than Alan Davidson conceding that "snow occasionally occurs in recipes ... in a certain type of pancake", I haven't seen it mentioned in any old British cookbooks or food history books. There's even a suggestion that using snow was common before baking powder was invented, as the ammonia said to be present in fresh snow acts as a leavening agent.
But is snow safe to eat? "Freshly melted snow is generally considered to be safe ... without further treatment", says Dr Liz Bentley, head of The Weather Club at the Royal Meteorological Society. "However, to be on the safe side, it is best to boil the water from melted snow for 10 minutes to kill any micro-organisms and germs that may exist." Adventurer Bear Grylls agrees: "I've often cooked with snow and it works great ... Once the snow is boiled it is fine to drink also."
Boiled snow? Where's the fun in that? I followed Cotter's advice and lived to tell the tale. "Make sure it's clean snow," he says. "It's definitely best if the snow is recently fallen and still in dry large flakes, all light and fluffy. Then work quickly yet gently." As Frank Zappa once sang: "Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow."
If you're still worried, shaved ice will work just as well (though it won't be such a hoot); and if you're a dab hand at liquid nitrogen wizardry, try making faux snow.
So have you ever used snow in a recipe? What did you make, and how did it turn out?
Snow: surprisingly useful in the kitchen. Photograph: John Windmill for the Guardian
