Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

, but made with

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

in addition to

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

and sugar. It is usually kept at a warmer temperature compared to ice cream, and typically has a denser consistency.

History

Egg yolks have been integrated into ice creams since at least the 1690s, though there are several notable invention stories that are associated with modern commercializations of this practice. One early commercialization of frozen custard was in

Coney Island, New York Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the ...

, in 1919, when ice cream vendors Archie and Elton Kohr found that adding

egg yolks Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example be ...

to ice cream created a smoother texture and helped the ice cream stay cold longer. In their first weekend on the

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

, they sold 18,460 cones. A frozen custard stand at the

1933 World's Fair A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositio ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

introduced the dessert to a wider audience. Following the fair, the dessert's popularity spread throughout the Midwest;

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, in particular, became known as the "unofficial frozen custard capital of the world". Per capita, Milwaukee has the highest concentration of frozen custard shops in the world and the city supports a long-standing three-way competition between Kopp's Frozen Custard, Gilles Frozen Custard and Leon's Frozen Custard. Major frozen custard chains in the United States include Culver's, headquartered in

Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin Prairie du Sac is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,420 at the 2020 census. The village is surrounded by the Town of Prairie du Sac, the Wisconsin River, and the village of Sauk City; together, Prairie du S ...

, with outlets in 26 states;

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is an American fast-casual restaurant chain based in Wichita, Kansas. Its menu includes steakburgers, Vienna Beef hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches, and the company provides frozen custard with a variety o ...

, based in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, with more than 300 locations nationwide; and

Andy's Frozen Custard Andy's Frozen Custard is a chain of American frozen custard stores with locations in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. The com ...

, based in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, with over 117 locations in 14 states. Other chains serving frozen custard include

Ted Drewes Ted Drewes is a family-owned frozen custard company in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The business was founded by Ted Drewes, Sr. in 1929. The shop on Chippewa Street (designated as a section of historic U.S. Route 66) is open much of th ...

, Rita's, The Meadows, and Abbott's.

Characteristics

In the U.S., the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

requires any product marketed as frozen custard to contain at least 10 percent

milkfat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. But ...

and 1.4 percent egg yolk solids. The FDA also allows the names “french ice cream” or “french custard ice cream” to be used. If it has a smaller percentage of egg yolk solids, it is considered ice cream. Actual frozen custard is a very dense dessert. Soft serve ice creams may have an overrun as large as 100%, meaning half of the final product is composed of air. Frozen custard, when made in a continuous freezer, will have an overrun of 15–30% depending on the machine manufacturer (an overrun percentage similar to gelato). Air is not pumped into the mix, nor is it added as an "ingredient" but gets into the frozen state by the agitation of liquid similar to whisking a

meringue Meringue (, ; ) is a type of dessert or candy, often associated with Swiss, French, Polish and Italian cuisines, traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream o ...

. The high percentage of butterfat and egg yolk gives the frozen custard a thick, creamy texture and a smoother consistency than ice cream. Frozen custard can be served at −8 °C (18 °F), warmer than the −12 °C (10 °F) at which ice cream is served, to make a soft serve product. Another difference between commercially produced frozen custard and commercial ice cream is the way the custard is frozen. The mix enters a refrigerated tube and, as it freezes, blades scrape the product cream off the barrel walls. The now frozen custard is discharged directly into containers from which it can be served. The speed with which the product leaves the barrel minimizes the amount of air in the product but, more importantly, ensures that the ice crystals formed are very small.

References

External links

FDA Standards for Frozen Desserts
{{ice cream Culture of Milwaukee Cuisine of the Midwestern United States Cuisine of Wisconsin Custard desserts Frozen desserts Ice cream

History

Characteristics

See also

References

External links