Street Cart · Shaved Ice Cone
Piragua (Shaved Ice Cone)
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: kx0101 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Piragua carts are traditionally hand-pushed, and vendors called piragüeros still shave the ice block by hand with a specialized plane rather than an electric shaver, a skill passed down within families.
A block of ice is hand-shaved into fine snow, packed into a paper cone, and doused with brightly colored fruit syrups like tamarindo, parcha, or coco, sold from small carts on street corners and plazas.
Why it's made this way: The piragua cart, named for the piragua canoe its heaped, pointed ice cone resembles, is one of Puerto Rico's oldest recognizable street-vendor traditions, found in nearly every town plaza.
More from Puerto Rico
Piña Colada
Alcapurria
Bacalaíto
Pinchos
Chicharrón (Fried Pork Cracklings)
🌽
Sorullitos de Maíz (Corn & Cheese Fritters)
Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.