RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

As you might have heard, some of us on the East Coast are snowed in this weekend and it's hard not to go a little bit stir-crazy. But one way to make the most out of a blizzard is to eat. That's right, I'm talking about turning lemons into lemonade - or rather, snow into snow cones. We asked you, our listeners, if there are any favorite recipes you like to make with freshly fallen snow. Before we get to those, a quick disclaimer because some of you might be thinking wait, is snow even safe to eat? We consulted an expert in the field. Her name is Staci Simonich.

STACI SIMONICH: I'm a professor of chemistry and toxicology at Oregon State University.

MARTIN: And according to her, it is A-OK to eat snow with this caveat.

SIMONICH: I think it's important to eat snow when it's freshly fallen. Soon after it's fallen, not after it's sat on the ground and, you know, maybe picked up contaminants from cars and that sort of thing if you're living in the city.

MARTIN: Simonich is from Wisconsin, so she knows what she's talking about. And with that in mind, we'd like to share some of your favorite snow recipes.

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JEN SMITH: My name is Jen Smith, and I live in Philadelphia, Pa. I really enjoy making snow cream. You go and get a lot of snow. And ideally, you would take the top layer off if you can, and then you mix that with milk. And you can use as much or as little as you want, depending on how you like it. And then you add vanilla and sugar, also to your liking.

LORELEI BASSEY: My name is Lorelei Bassey, and I'm from Woodbridge, Va. You know, I have ice shavers that I've bought to make Hawaiian ice with, but snow is the perfect consistency for Hawaiian ice because it's so fluffy, it's so light, and it takes a lot of syrup, which is really kind of the most important part of making Hawaiian ice.

BOB BALABAN: This is Bob Balaban from Lexington, Mass. I make maple syrup candy, where you take the snow and you pack it a little and you drizzle some maple syrup on it. And hopefully, if you do it right, the maple syrup crystallizes and it's like candy.

MARTIN: That maple syrup candy might sound familiar to our listeners north of our border. It's a common Canadian wintertime treat, as well as a literary one. It's one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's snow recipes in the "Little House" series, too. Bon appetit. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.