July 3, 2011

Norwood Delite- Blueberry Softserve

If you grew up going to King's Island as a kid you probably partook in your fair shair of blueberry softserve at the Huckelberry Dairy in (what used to be) Hanna Barbera Land.  This is one of my most fond memories of King's Island; even more so than the Beast or the waterpark or Amazon Falls.  In recent years I'm guilty of going to King's Island and consuming 2 large blueberry softserve cones with rainbow sprinkles in a matter of an hour.

So, you can imagine how my eyes lit up when one of my friends informed me, very matter-of-factly, that a local dairy bar in Norwood serves the same blueberry softserve.  And you don't have to pay a $50 admission first!?!  I assumed maybe King's Island had some sort of rights to the blueberry softserve but then I learned that they purchase the mix from Trauth Dairy and don't actually make it themselves.

Anyhoo, a lot of back-story here but that's just how much I love this ice cream!  Unfortunately the Norwood Delite Creamy Whip version was not exactly the same as King's Island. I think they put in too much flavoring resulting in a vibrant, almost electric blue color.  King's Island's was always more of a light baby blue.  The flavor itself was the same, just too much of it.  The consistency was also a little different which could have something to do with the quality of the machine they use.  It wasn't quite frozen enough and didn't have that light, almost fluffy texture to it.  But the rainbow sprinkles were perfect!

Another difference is that Norwood Delite does not have the ability to mix blueberry and vanilla softserve on one cone; which is my preferred combination.  This is why I had to get mine in a cup with a cone on the side.  I ended up spooning the ice cream from the cup into the cone myself; there's nothing better than the last bites of the bottom of a cake cone filled with softserve ice cream.  It's all part of the softserve experience!

Even though this blueberry didn't measure up, I'm planning to go back to see if the quality depends on who makes it becuase it's definitely worth a 2nd chance.  And I love corner dairy bars so it's never a wasted trip.  Norwood Delite has a long menu to choose from and there was quite a bit of traffic at their window.  They are located on Forest Avenue in Norwood close to Sharpsburg Elementary school and off of Smith Road, if you're in the area I recommend stopping by.  (If you're not sold on the blueberry you should at least ask them for a sample to taste:).

Norwood Delite Creamy Whip on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for this! I have loved this ice cream since I was a kid, but it's not possible to visit King's Island every summer just for the ice cream. That said, can't wait to find and visit this dairy bar.

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  2. The difference in the color and texture is because King's Island uses a machine that whips more air into the mix than the dairy store in Norwood. In the ice cream business it's called "overrun" and is the percentage of air mixed in. I would say they had a lot more overrun in the King's Island product than in the product served in Norwood. Same mix, slightly different results...huge difference on the profit end.

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