August weather in Starkville is merciless to seekers of cool breeze and sweat-free clothes. The people of Starkville want a cold feeling of some sort to stave off this melting heat. Solution-something that will tantalize our mouths with a cool, smooth sensation…Bop’s Frozen Custard.
Kay and Doyes Holland have something to offer an ever so hot Starkville with their cool custard sanctuary on Hwy. 12, Bop’s Frozen Custard. Bop’s is a franchise out of Jackson that originated from the genius brainstorming of Jackson native and original founder, Jimmy Eckford.
While living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Eckford discovered, through his many visits to local custard shops, the true uniqueness of custard. Typically a northern treat, Eckford enjoyed it so much that when he ventured back to the south, he soon after began this franchise.
People may be quick to assume that frozen custard is just like any other typical soft-serve ice cream in the city-but don’t be. This is your out of the ordinary ice cream, because it’s not ice cream-it’s custard.
Let us be educated about custard.
In the early 20th century, a few smart men from Coney Island, New York concocted an all-natural, ice cream-like dessert that contained 10 percent butterfat and 1.4 percent egg. Bam! America has custard.
Sophomore Kinesiology major Jamie Oliver says of the custard, “It’s ten times better than regular ice cream, it’s just more smooth.”
One of the greatest qualities of custard is how smooth it is. It melts in your mouth like ice cream, but the difference in texture is drastic. Custard is very smooth compared to ice cream, and there is a reason for all this madness, which are ice crystal sizes.
Within regular ice cream, there are too many ice crystals already, which multiply over time in freezer storage and make its texture coarse, whereas ice crystal sizes in custard are nearly half the size and amount of the ice crystals contained in ice cream, making its ultra smooth texture.
Local Bop’s owner Kay Holland said the shop’s tag line for the custard is, “Old-fashioned, homemade ice cream taste”.
The Bop’s menu contains a wide array of custard fixin’s. Bop’s offers specialty sundaes, such as the best-selling “Snappy Turtle” which is loaded with hot fudge, caramel and roasted pecans, shakes and malts, floats and freezes, gourmet sandwiches, plus their six specialty concretes. The latter phrase may confuse first-time customers as they stare and wonder, “What is a concrete?”
Much like regular concrete, except it’s edible, Bop’s concrete’s are simply the custard blended with toppings. Bop’s also allows the customer to create his or her own concrete.
If customers want to zing up the flavor of the custard the employees can do just that. You want a mint chocolate chip flavor? Perfect. Bop’s has “Davinci Gourmet Flavors” that can be added to anything. The crŠme de menthe and chocolate flakes will work.
The younger clientele seem to feel no less enthusiastic than older consumers. Nick Hayes and friends of Starkville High School enjoyed their custard on the Bop’s patio area and said, “The service is great and it’s near our school.” The boys proclaimed their favorite item “The Big Bubba” as they all indulged in their tubs of banana splits.
Bop’s is a convenient stop for hungry customers who want double the satisfaction. They offer six gourmet sandwiches, so you can savor a sandwich and cure your sweet tooth all in one trip.
Bop’s Frozen Custard is open Monday through Thursday from 11am till 10pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am till 11pm and Sundays from 2pm till 10pm at 127 Hwy. 12 West next to KFC. For more information call 323-5449.