Dan Cirucci: Soft Serve?

Friday, July 25, 2008

Soft Serve?

Aimee Cirucci has alerted us to a feature story in the New York Times about soft serve ice cream (often referred to in the Philadelphia area as "frozen custard").

It seems soft serve is tres chic. In fact it's all the rage in New York and Hollywood.

I've loved soft serve for years. Now, as ice cream gets more and more complicated (with mixes, fold-ins, toppings, swirls, flurries and blizzards) I find myself turning to soft-serve more and more.

Soft serve is simple: It's smooth, creamy, tasty, consistent and fun and easy to eat. It's basic. It stands well on its own. It doesn't need any alteration, additions or adulteration.

And, it's comforting.

Don't ever think that soft serve is just for children. No way!

Soft serve is for everybody.

Here's what Marian Burros of the New York Times says:

Even the most ordinary soft serve is popular. When going out for an afternoon or evening snack, Americans are about twice as likely to have a soft-serve swirl than a scoop of the harder stuff, according to Harry Balzer, a vice president of the NPD group, a market research firm. (Until recently you couldn’t make soft serve at home.) While sales of hard ice cream have been fairly stable, according to NPD, soft-serve sales are growing.
The appeal of soft serve lies in part in a bit of science. Taste buds respond better when they’re not well chilled, so ice cream tastes creamier and richer when it’s not frozen solid. Hard ice cream is served at about 5 to 7 degrees, while soft serve comes out of the nozzle at 14 to 25 degrees.

Those great classics, Mister Softee, Carvel and Dairy Queen remain very popular.

One soft serve merchant proudly declares: “Soft serve is a really a satisfying textural, tactile and visual experience. Like instant gratification. We have a lot of people joking about lying down and having the soft serve dispense right into their mouths.”

BTW: There is a difference between soft serve and frozen custard. Frozen custard contains eggs while most soft serves don't. And most soft serve pursits enjoy the treat in a dish, not a cone.

Either way, Enjoy!

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About Dan Cirucci

He has been cited by Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed on radio, TV and in social media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, Matt Rooney's sidekick on Save Jersey's videocasts and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post and other publications.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

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