Summer 2017 Tour de Ice Cream: Culver’s Fresh Frozen Custard

Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.

Last year, I attempted to bring you the “Summer of Freedom,” showcasing free things to explore and do in Palm Beach County… no comment on whether that was a success or failure… I think I fizzled out halfway through.  This summer, however, I’m committing myself to a much more achievable (and delicious goal): the Tour de Ice Cream!

Yep, you read that right.  P and I plan to hit up every eatery in Jupiter serving cold, creamy goodness.  With an endless amount of flavors, ice cream should be a food group all to itself.  I will never pass up a chance to savor my favorite dairy treat.  Seriously, my car needs a bumper sticker that says “WILL BRAKE FOR ICE CREAM.”

I trace my ice cream obsession back to childhood visits to America’s Dairyland: good ol’ Wisconsin.  One of the nation’s largest dairy producers, Wisconsin “Cheeseheads” take their ice cream very seriously.  Only in a Sun Prairie, WI grocery store could this scrawny, native Floridian realize her dream: an entire aisle devoted to frozen dairy desserts.  I credit this to the fact that most Wisconsin residents do not constantly remind themselves they will have to wear a two-piece swimsuit at a public beach all summer.

However, it wasn’t ice cream that I fell head over heels for but its creamier cousin, custard (Say that five times fast!).  For those uninitiated in this Midwestern dairy cult, the ingredients for custard are mandated by law, requiring that the frozen treat contain a certain amount of egg and less air than ice cream to give it the characteristic smooth, creamy flavor.  And on a warm Wisconsin summer afternoon, there is nowhere else that you would rather go to get your handcrafted frozen custard than Culver’s, the United State’s largest frozen custard chain.

That is why I squealed with excitement when I discovered a Culver’s opening in Jupiter last fall.  I would finally be able to eat my favorite childhood treat right here in my hometown!

Each individual Culver’s restaurant features a “Flavor of the Day,” a unique blend of candy, fruit, and syrups.  Since the grand opening in November, I’ve been impatiently waiting for our Jupiter location to serve up Chocolate Oreo Volcano: Chocolate Fresh Frozen Custard mixed with Oreo pieces, chopped Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, mini M&M’s, and streams of chocolate syrup.

Growing up, my family was staunchly against “fruity” ice cream during our annual Wisconsin summer vacations. If the Culver’s restaurant closest to my aunt’s home in Sun Prairie was serving Cherry Cheesecake / Chocolate Covered Strawberry / Raspberry Cordial for the day, she’d strap my cousin and me in the backseat of the mini-van and take off for a crosstown drive-by of all the local Culver’s until we discovered a suitable flavor – preferably anything named after a candy bar.  If we were lucky, we might get to eat custard for dinner.

If custard isn’t your thing (which I don’t know why it wouldn’t be!), you can always sample a Butter Burger, which P wholeheartedly offered to try for the sake of this blog.  The burger, made with Midwest-raised beef, gets its name from its bun, which is buttered and grilled to toasty perfection.

I’m delighted that we can revisit our Midwestern roots (SHOUT OUT, DETROIT!) right here in the JUP.  Definitely keep your eyes on the Flavor of the Day schedule – you never know when your childhood favorite might come up on the menu.

Where should we stop next on the Tour de Ice Cream?  Email me at NativeJUP@gmail.com.

xo,

JUP Girl

Culver’s of Jupiter, FL • 1108 Military Trail, Jupiter, FL 33458 • Phone: (561) 529-3772