The Shore Blog

National Frozen Custard Day is celebrated each year on August 8, and in commemoration of this special day we wanted to share some history on this delicious frozen treat.

In 1917, Archie Kohr purchased a gasoline-powered ice cream machine to expand his family’s diary business. He and his brother, Elton, he experimented with different ice cream recipes and discovered a way to give the ice cream a smoother texture by adding less fat and sugar. The brothers weren’t satisfied with the way their machine produced the ice cream, so they modified the machine. When they ran the new recipe through the modified process, they found that end product was silkier and creamier than before. Further improving upon their recipe, the brothers found that if they added additional egg whites to the recipe, it stiffened the product, kept it from melting as fast and gave it more of a custard flavor.

In 1919, at the suggestion of their uncle, the brothers set up a small booth on the Coney Island Boardwalk to sell their frozen delicacy. It is rumored that, on their first weekend in operation, they sold more than 18,000 cones at a nickel a piece. Soon, the business began expanding along the East Coast. Today, Kohr Bros. ® Original Frozen Custard is sold in four states, including New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago introduced frozen custard to the Midwest. Today, Milwaukee, Wisconsin claims to be the unofficial frozen custard capital of the world due to its assertions of more frozen custard shops per capita. But anyone who frequents the southern Jersey shore knows better – of New Jersey’s 13 shops, 12 are located between Ocean City and Cape May.

Similar to ice cream, frozen custard is made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar, but it has less fat and sugar than ice cream. The United States Food and Drug Administration requires that, in order to qualify as frozen custard, the concoction must have less than 10% butterfat (ice cream has 17%) and 1.4% egg yolk solids – fewer eggs and it’s considered to be ice cream. Unlike hard ice cream, frozen custard has a smooth, silky texture and is dispensed from a special machine that swirls the frozen concoction into a cone or dish, rather than being hand scooped like hard ice cream. The production process also whips less air into the mixture, resulting in fewer ice crystals and, therefore, a creamier texture than ice cream.

Celebrate National Frozen Custard Day by visiting a local Kohr’s location and try a new flavor. Then post a picture to #kohrbros and #theshoreblog to share with others. Enjoy your frozen treat!