You can learn a lot about soft serve by taste-testing nearly every cone in the county. I did exactly that this summer.
First, not all soft serve is created equal. Some is thicker, some airier, some icier; even when two places use the same base, the results can be radically different. Second, Sonoma County’s dairies make some very good soft serve. And finally, I have yet to meet a twist cone I didn’t fall at least a little bit in love with.
Most of Sonoma County’s soft-serve machines use a liquid base from either Straus Family Creamery or Valley Ford Creamery. We’re more than a little spoiled to have either: Both make exceptional dairy.
This list is strictly about dairy soft serve. No yogurt, sorbet, custard or anything else that comes out of a machine and requires its own category. So don’t come at me with your little plastic spoons.
Here are the results of my very unscientific tour of Sonoma County’s soft-serve scene.
Absolute Best Soft Serve: Valley Ford Creamery
The highest praise I can give a dessert is “last-meal good,” and this velvety, butterfat-rich soft serve qualifies. Valley Ford Creamery uses milk from its own Jersey cows to make gelato-smooth vanilla and chocolate soft serve at its cafe and cheese-aging facility. The herd’s high-fat milk gives the frozen dessert a texture that is dense, silky and remarkably easy to keep eating. You may be ruined for lesser soft serve.
14390 Valley Ford Road, Valley Ford, 707-875-7073, valleyfordcheese.com
Most Interesting Toppings: Altamont General Store
Grilled pickled pineapple may be the strangest soft-serve topping on this list, but don’t dismiss it before you try it. Its sweet-tart acidity is excellent with creamy vanilla. Try the Pineapple Express, with organic soft serve, grilled pickled pineapple, passion fruit syrup and sea salt. Other toppings include olive oil, vegan chocolate cookies and gluten-free tahini brownie.
While you’re there, don’t miss the Umami Cloud: miso caramel cold foam dusted with caramel salt over iced chai. Chef’s kiss.
3703 Main St., Occidental, 707-874-6053, altamontgeneralstore.com
Most Committed: Valley Swim Club
Valley Swim Club takes its soft serve seriously. This isn’t a dessert tacked onto the menu; it’s a pillar of the casual, seafood-centric operation. If you’re a cone person, rainbow sprinkles, cookie crumbles, toasted peanuts and white chocolate chips are good choices. Sea salt and olive oil, caramel and chocolate sauce are better contained in a cup. But you do you. The soft serve also makes an excellent shake.
18709 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, 707-243-3032, valleyswim.club
Best Float: River Electric
Of course you’ll want a root beer float while lounging by the pool. Creamy vanilla soft serve and Boylan’s not-too-sweet root beer make an ideal summer combination. Add a shot of bourbon, and you have a relaxation strategy, even with a million kids screaming nearby.
16101 Neeley Road, Guerneville, 707-937-8915, theriverelectric.com
Best for Dip Cones: Foster’s Freeze
Don’t ask what makes that perfect chocolate shell around soft serve so good. You probably don’t want to know. Just order the dip cone and remember childhood: those blistering summer days when Mom and Dad drove to Foster’s Freeze to keep you and your siblings occupied for a while. Oh, the good old days. Even as an adult, accept that some chocolate will probably end up on your shirt. And your shoes. That’s part of the experience.
855 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa; 1400 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. fostersfreeze.com
Most Cheffy: Dead Letter
The newish Sonoma restaurant takes soft serve into fine-dining territory, finishing its vanilla swirl with dark-chocolate hard shell and sesame-honeycomb candy. It’s fancy without taking itself too seriously, with plenty of nods to childhood.
101 E. Napa St., Sonoma, 707-933-3665, deadlettersonoma.com
Best Twist: Handline
I have a suspicious number of $7.13 charges from Handline on my credit-card statement this summer. They’re all for the same thing: a large chocolate-and-vanilla twist from the soft-serve window. Those brown-and-white swirls became my post-kayaking reward, hot-day cool-down and “I made it through Monday” consolation. Worth every cent. Usually eaten in my car.
935 Gravenstein Highway S., Sebastopol, 707-827-3744, handline.com
Best Olive Oil: Bravas Bar de Tapas
Delicate tangerine olive oil is a surprising topping to the velvety vanilla soft serve, the savory-sweet combo tastes like the fanciest creamsicle you’ve ever had. If you’re a sweet-on-sweet person, the deep cajeta-style caramel topping takes burnt-sugar sweetness to another level. 420 Center St., Healdsburg, 707-433-7700, barbravas.com
Best Brittle: Grossman’s
Grossman’s serves soft serve with its own collection of toppings, including candied strawberries, white-chocolate crumble, Bubbies brittle and tahini caramel. 308 Wilson St., Santa Rosa, 707-595-7707, grossmanssr.com
Best Affogato: Diavola Pizzeria & Salumeria
A shot of hot espresso poured over cold soft serve is perhaps the best argument for dessert after lunch. The combination of melting soft serve and strong coffee is hard to resist, particularly when you need an afternoon pick-me-up. Eat it with a spoon, then drink whatever’s left.
21021 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, 707-814-0111, diavolapizzeria.com
How soft-serve machines work
Eating this much soft serve means eventually getting into the mechanics of the machine, because a few settings can mean the difference between an icy mess and a dense, creamy swirl.
Soft serve begins as a liquid mix that is chilled, churned and aerated inside the machine. As the mix freezes, a scraper sweeps it out of the freezing chamber while incorporating air, a process known as “overrun.” That air is a big part of what gives soft serve its characteristic texture.
Most commercial soft-serve machines target an overrun of roughly 30% to 60%. In other words, a gallon of liquid mix can produce about 1.3 to 1.6 gallons of soft serve.
Machines can be calibrated for different temperatures, consistencies and amounts of air. More air produces a lighter, fluffier swirl; less produces something denser and richer.
The mix itself matters, too. Fat and sugar affect how the base freezes and melts, which helps explain why two shops using the same dairy mix can produce noticeably different results. One may hold a tall, firm twist; another may be softer and silkier.
