Atlantic City Weekly

The machine hums as a long steam of a creamy white treat fills up a two-and-a-half gallon bucket. Ronny Bauer carefully guides the soft tasty goop into the bucket and then moves to a critical part. Taking a container of broken Snickers bars pieces and a big scoop, he starts plopping them in. To an observer, there doesn’t seem to be much measuring going on and a lot of Snickers going in.

“At this point, I am doing this mostly by feel,” he says. “You put in what feels right.” Looking on is his wife, Marla Pino, who is the real ice cream pro of the two. While Bauer is in his first year as an ice cream maker, Pino has been at it a decade as owner of TJ’s Homemade Ice Cream on Atlantic Ave, in Ocean City. (See a behind the scenes look at TJ's HERE)

“Actually, the scoops are the same as any measuring cup, so it’s hard to screw it up,” she says. “But still, even when you follow the recipe, you look at it and say, “That’s not quite right. It needs more.”

So in goes some more candy until it suits the couple’s standards. But even filled with Snickers (or M&Ms, marshmallows, Oreo cookies or whatever,) it’s still not technically ice cream yet. The whole concoction will have to spend about eight hours in a flash freezer at about 30 degrees below zero. Then it will emerge as ice cream, though rock hard ice cream.

“It’s part of the process,” Bauer says. “Then you move it back to a regular freezer so it softens up enough to scoop. You have to do it or you won’t get that ice cream consistency. It will be more like custard. So fresh ice cream really means you’re eating what was made yesterday.”

Still many ice cream aficionados appreciate the extra effort that ice cream shops like TJ’s in Ocean City, Springers in Stone Harbor of Lindy Hops in Galloway Township make. Let’s face it; finding an ice cream shop at the Jersey shore is only slightly harder than finding sand on a beach. But most ice cream shops bring in their product (Breyers being the most dominant brand) and don’t make it on site. There’s just something unique and special about homemade ice cream.

“Basically, it all come down to the fat content,” Bauer says. “We use a mix that’s about 14 percent milk fat. Most mixes are lower than that. That’s high enough to be called premium ice cream.”

If the fat scares you, there are lots of lower calorie alternatives (soft serve ice cream is generally lower in fat, for example), but in the grand scheme of things, milk fat equals flavor. Well that and a few other things.

“We add our own sugar and flavors, fruit and the candy,” Pino says. “The advantage of homemade is that there are no preservatives and fillers and none of the chemicals used to extend shelf life. The ice cream we make today is only going to last about three months.”

Well technically three months, though no tub made at TJ’s stays in the store more than a week or two. The store makes 30 to 35 tubs of ice cream a week.

The other advantage is the flavors, which can be pretty much anything the couple wants them to be. The staples are still the big sellers with mint chocolate chip TJ’s most popular flavor (next to vanilla bean, which is used in sundaes and shakes). But ever since chains like Ben & Jerry’s hit the market, ice cream flavors have taken off. “That is the most fun part,” Pino says. “You look at the crazy flavors they have and you say ‘I can top that.’ Or the kids come in and say: ‘Why don’t you make this flavor’ and you think ‘Why not? I’ll try it.’”

Pino’s masterpiece is called A Day At The Zoo, a mixture of cotton candy ice cream, mini-marshmallows and animal crackers (and probably some more stuff we forgot).

Tradition: You Can’t Lick It

For some homemade ice cream shops, tradition is the key word. At Lindy Hops in Galloway Twp., opened in 1991, the shop is decked out in a ’50s motif, reminiscent of the days when ice cream fountains ruled the industry. “We want to be a place that people remember,” says Ed Jones, who makes ice cream daily for Lindy Hops. “We want to be a place that the kids will remember all their lives.”

Some of Jones’ flavor masterpieces assure that, such as his turtle and mounds ice cream. To make the flavors, he constructs his own candy, such as adding coconut and chocolate rather than Mound bars. “It disperses the flavor all through the ice cream he says. “You’d swear you were eating a Mounds bar.”