By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
It can be filled with all sorts of fruits, cookies and candies and topped with chocolate chips or Oreos. When it comes to ice cream flavors, these kids know what they want.
At Surfin Sundae in Monmouth Beach, owners Kevin and Lisa Costello make their own ice cream. It starts with a base mix of cream, sugar and milk. Six quarts of that is poured into a bucket.
“Then we add in our special flavorings of whatever flavor base we’re going to make,” Kevin said.
Like vanilla, coffee concentrate or popcorn for their buttery popcorn ice cream. For this recipe they add popcorn to the ice cream base, then drain it so they’re left with the liquid. Surfin Sundae doesn’t add an exact amount of flavoring to each mix. It all depends on what they’re making. After that it’s added to the batch freezer.
“A batch freezer is basically what turns the ice cream base — cream, milk and sugar — into actual ice cream that you’d be eating. So it is a machine that whips air into and freezes at the same time, the base,” Kevin said.
The whole process takes five to 10 minutes.
“Then we open up the extractor and when it’s coming out, that’s when we add any additional toppings,” Kevin said.
Like Oreos for coffee Oreo ice cream. The consistency at this point is similar to soft serve ice cream. The 2.5 gallon cart is then placed in the blast freezer for eight to 10 hours.
“That is a freezer especially designed for ice cream and it gets to 40 degrees below zero which stops ice cream from crystallizing and makes it nice and smooth,” Kevin said.
The next morning the new hard ice cream thaws out for a few minutes. Then it’s ready for eager customers.
The year-round business typically makes 20 to 25 flavors a week, including a vegan flavor. Many change depending on the season.
“If a customer comes up with a suggestion and we think it will sell, we go ahead and make it,” Kevin said.
When I was a teenager I used to work on an ice cream shop so I know a thing or two about making the perfect ice cream cone. But this is a new one for me scooping while holding the microphone.
“You should quit your job and work here,” Kevin said. “Good scoop.”
Here at Surfin Sundae, they typically scoop 600 to 800 times a day during the summer months.
The Costellos have to taste-test everything over and over again. I decided try that part of the job. Declan Kelly didn’t want to taste test. He got a bowl.
Like so many other shore businesses, Surfin Sundae owners depend on sunny skies and hot days. By the looks of it, these kids will gladly order this all year long.