Hansen's Sno-Bliz
It opened in 1934 and is believed to be the oldest sno-ball stand in the United States using Ernest Hansen's hand crafted Electric machine. Although earlier, Walther Gardens (Baltimore, 1928) uses a hand crank or hand shaver. Hansen's Sno-Bliz has been operated continuously by the Hansen family. After Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent death of founders Ernest and Mary Hansen, the shop closed for some time before being reopened by their granddaughter Ashley Hansen, in early summer of 2006. The shop is open annually from March to October.
In 2014, Hansen's received an America's Classics award at the James Beard Foundation Awards.
Sno-balls in Louisiana are similar to what the rest of the country calls snow cones, but they are made with more-finely-shaved ice and a large variety of homemade syrups.
The Ice Shaving Machine
Ernest Hansen built Hansen's ice-shaving machine himself, entitled the "Sno-Bliz" in the 1930s. It was the first ever block-ice shaver. The U.S. government granted the patent in 1950.
The machine currently in use today was built by Ernest Hansen in 1939.
References
- ^ Keith O'Brien, "The End Of Summer Means The End Of 'Snowballs' In New Orleans", All Things Considered, September 29, 2014.
- ^ Todd Price, "Hansen's Sno-Bliz named an America's Classic by James Beard Foundation", The Times-Picayune, February 27, 2014.
- ^ US patent 2515923, Ernest C Hansen, "Ice Shaving Machine", published 1950-07-18, assigned to Ernest C Hansen
External links
- Official website
- Review of Hansen's Sno-Bliz at Roadfood.com
- "Let It Sno: The Torch Is Passed for an Icy New Orleans Tradition", Gambit, May 30, 2006, archived by the Wayback Machine here
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 "How It's Done: Hansen's Atomic Sno-Ball". WWLTV News. |