Well, the second hour of Midday on Thursday was all about snowballs, the Baltimore-area summertime treat. Our guest, Henry Hong, the Food Nerd, wrote a piece about snowballs in the City Paper, and he came into WYPR's Studio A to compare notes with our listeners. We were flooded with calls and e-mails on the subject. I didn't have time to read all of them on the air, so here's a sampling:

I am a die-hard snowball fan–especially when it's hot. (I've been known to skip dinner and just have the snowball).  My favorite is a "humdinger" - a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the bottom, chocolate snowball, topped off with extra marshmallow. The only place I have found near me that even sells sort of traditional snowballs is the Chinese take-out on Route 13. I haven't had the guts to try them - instead I have a mini-snowball maker I bought from Target and I make my own...not quite the same but still pretty good!
-- Liz in Salisbury

It's great to know the history of our own snowballs in Baltimore.  When I was a child, my mother used an ice crusher to try to make her own and put marshmallow creme on top of it.  Then she would go to the restaurant supply stores and buy the snowball syrups.  My favorite was always egg custard with marshmallow in that Styrofoam cup!
-- John in Baltimore

Sorry.  From Hagerstown (Washington County) -- No Snowball stands or lemon sticks. Or Smith Island Cake for that matter.
-- Joseph

I used have a small corner store in Fells Point/Canton.  One of the bestsellers for me was marshmallow on the bottom, egg custard flavor, marshmallow on top and sometimes a shot of chocolate. In Indonesia, one of their favorite deserts is a bowl of ice, with sugared, chopped tomatoes.
-- Linda

I had the best snow cones ever in Tampico, Mexico in the summer of 1969.  Guys would ride around on bicycles with aluminum coolers tied to the handlebars.  They carried a wood plane to shave the ice and would put crushed fruit with syrup on top.  They cost pennies and were terrific!
-- Mike in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

Although I'm not from here, when I was a kid we visited Baltimore grandparents and loved to get snowballs.  I am sure that in my childhood there was no such thing as Styrofoam cups.
-- June

We go to Waldo's Snowballs in the Harford Mall parking lot. I always get "Rainbow." Kids always get chocolate with peanut butter sauce (we call that flavor "the loaded diaper"). As far as I know, peanut butter is new. Bad thing about peanut butter is that it actually adds some nutritional value to otherwise totally empty calories.
-- Fritz

Hi Dan and Henry,
I have to jump in and tell you that the real chunkier snowballs are true Baltimore, not shaved ice!  FYI...the Chestnut Ridge Volunteer Fire company runs a unique snowball stand all summer in that it is staffed completely by volunteers with 100% of the profits going to the station and protecting the community. The stand is a meeting place for the neighborhood and we have customers that come especially for our old fashioned snowballs year after year, which we sell with marshmallow and ice cream if you want...the best! The prices are incredibly reasonable with a small at only $1.25 (I think). Many folks are interested in the firehouse when they come up for a snowball, so we are always happy to have a firefighter/member give you a tour of our equipment and firehouse if you'd like. The kids love it. So snowballs are helping our community!
-- Hillary

Forty years ago when I was a kid, you could only get a snowball from a truck ringing a bell. You got a paper cup, flat wooden spoon, and crushed ice–not shaved. Shaved ice was, and is, a snow cone. Shaved ice was usually at a festival.
-- John

We also got into lemon sticks, like the ones sold at the Flowermart each year. I wondered where you get those porous peppermint sticks used to make them. (I made them once a few years ago for visiting relatives, who loved them, but I could not quite remember where I got the sticks.)

Jeppi Nut carries the Piedmont Candy Company Peppermint sticks in large tubs. They are a little more porous than the original lemon peppermint sticks, but will do in a pinch.
-- Tom in Timonium-

Looking at the website for Piedmont Candy in NC that your earlier caller mentioned, they are selling the same sticks that Jeppi carries in Timonium, MD. We've had some success with them, though they don't seem to be quite the same as what I used to get at the Hopkins Fair and other summer festivals.
-- Ben

Sometimes you can find the King Leo brand peppermint sticks at Williams-Sonoma in Cross Keys.
 -- Meg

Eddie's usually has little baggies of the right peppermint sticks by the cash registers.
-- Jill in Roland Park--

I'm pretty sure they have lemon sticks in Lexington Market, in the back, just inside from the peanut guy. As far as international ice treat, Malaysia as an amazing treat called chendol, and another one called ice chachang.  And the best of all is found in the Philippines in a truly amazing dish called halo-halo.
-- Ellen

When I was a student at Roland Park Country School from 1960 to 1973, lemon sticks were a very popular item at our annual Christmas Fair.  And i think McDonogh had them at their Christmas Bazaar too.
-- Debbie

I have been able to get peppermint sticks at the Amish Market in Annapolis Harbor Center on Solomons Island Rd. They are suitably porous, but only about 3" long  apiece.  Just be advised that the Amish Market is only open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Regarding marshmallow–not on my snowball!
-- Barb

I'm almost positive that you can get the halved lemon with a peppermint stick at SNOASIS (or OASIS maybe?) lemonade stands.  there is one in the Harborplace shopping center at the Inner Harbor. When i was a little kid i ran a snowball stand outside of my house in Little Italy for several summers, until some anonymous jerk called the cops on me for not having a permit. Anyhow, as far as crushed ice vs. shaved ice goes... when we're talking Baltimore sno-balls, you are enjoying CRUSHED ice. Shaved ice is what you would get at the Boardwalk in Ocean City.  The Boardwalk stands use an actual block of ice and a planer to shave it.  the snowball stand that i operated used a tall metal machine, that you would top-load cubed ice into.  the ice would drop into a tunnel which had rotating grinders and blades which would crush the ice and shoot it into a cup. . . . My rule of thumb is this:  if it's crunchy, it's crushed ice.  If it melts in your mouth, it's shaved ice.  Oh, and best snowball flavor ever: egg custard with vanilla ice cream on the bottom and marshmallow on the top.
-- Justin in Little Italy

Graul's Market sets up a display at the start of each summer with lemons and King Leo peppermint sticks. Good, but they dissolve a little too readily. Still looking for the perfect stick. Will try Piedmont.
-- Christy in Annapolis

I was lucky to have inherited a commercial Sno-master machine. I make snowballs lots during the summer for kids and adults alike.  One of our favorites is ice, vanilla ice cream and then more ice topped with chocolate syrup.  Drop by any time for one.
-- Stephie

After visiting in Costa Rica a number of years ago, we brought home one of the beautifully decorated carts that were pushed through the streets by young men hawking the snow cones.  Mine is a bright blue background with multicolored flower designs special to Costa Rica.  There were slots for the bottles of flavoring and the main part of the cart held the ice.  It came with a small table, not unlike our TV tables, where the cones were placed ready for purchase.  It is a beautiful piece of artwork in my home.
-- Patricia in Annapolis

Ice cream on the bottom, vanilla flavor, marshmallow on top!
-- John

My experience in snowball-eating goes back to early '50's in East Baltimore.  People would make the snowballs in their homes 5 cents made with a hand-held shaver ran across a block of ice. The shavings were not as fine as the ice in a snow cone. The snowball was served in a paper boat shaped container. The handheld shaver was shaped like a computer mouse.
-- Inexplicably anonymous

Dear Dan and Henry:
My blog writes about all things sweet in Baltimore, from cakes and pies to cookies, ice cream, and...SNOWBALLS! And by coincidence today I have a posting about Baltimore snowballs. I've also started a photo-sharing group on Flickr where people can post their photos relating to the Baltimore snowball; if any of your listeners would like to join, just go to Flickr.com and enter the search term "Baltimore snowball" under "groups," and they'll be directed to the spot. To see today's posting about the Baltimore snowball on my blog, go to: www.bmoresweet.blogspot.com. I welcome everyone's comments and shared experiences about this great summertime Baltimore tradition!
www.bmoresweet.blogspot.com
B More Sweet, all things sweet in Baltimore