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Frozen custard

What: Similar to soft-serve ice cream but incorporating eggs (including yolk) and boasting a silky creaminess, frozen custard is a boardwalk must on a sweltering day. Though pockets around the U.S. are better known for frozen custard, one company, with roots in Pennsylvania and a huge seaside presence in New Jersey, is reportedly the inventor of the stuff. It’s touted as being lower in fat and sugar than regular ice cream.

Where: You’ll find Kohr’s (732-793-1414; also: Kohrbros.com; multiple locations) all over several boardwalks—Point Pleasant, Seaside, Ocean City, Wildwood—but the family company got started on Coney Island’s boardwalk in 1919, when the original Kohr brothers, from York, Pennsylvania, discovered that adding eggs to their farm-fresh ice cream created a deliciously thicker product that didn’t melt as fast. One brother, Elton, later split off to build his own custard chain—leading to Kohr’s the Original—while the other siblings continued to build Kohr’s Brothers (hence the two websites), which now sells the custard in 10 different states. Kind of confusing, but any of the Kohr-owned branches are gonna be good. We got ours on the Seaside boardwalk, where Kohr’s has several storefronts that are all operated by various Kohr descendants. The one at Franklin Avenue was in business before there was even a boardwalk, according to the company.

When: Daily, 11am-midnight (weather dependent)

Order: Kohr’s is locally famous for their vanilla-and-orange swirl cone ($3.75). It doesn’t disappoint, tasting like a creamy orangeade mixed with vanilla ice cream. Which, incidentally, you can get here too (orangeade float, $6). Plain vanilla is a popular choice as well, though chocolate and crème d’mint are also available, and a couple of “hard” custard options. We recommend you stick with the soft, original-style custard.

Alternatively: There aren’t too many other places known specifically for custard by the Shore, but that other frozen dessert is always in high demand come summer—ice cream. Some of our favorite local ice cream shops are Hoffman’s (800 Richmond Ave., map) in Point Pleasant Beach (with additional locations in Spring Lake and Little Silver); Wilson’s Homemade (732-229-5500; 444 Ocean Blvd. North, map) in Long Branch; and old-fashioned Nagle’s (732-776-9797; 43 Main Ave., map) in Ocean Grove.