Custard meet the Freezer
We recently celebrated national ice cream day. And, it is something to get excited about. But, ice cream takes many forms. While it’s usually just cream and sugar, adding egg yolks brings it to the next level. And, that’s what today is about. Custard meet the Freezer: it’s national frozen custard day. The addition of egg yolks creates a denser, creamier ice cream that doesn’t melt as quickly as unyolked versions. It can actually be held at a higher temperature too (still in a freezer though). This makes sense since a custard is already pre-thickened by the egg. There are some ice creams with egg commercially available. But, you rarely see it in stores. For the most part, you have to go to a specialty shop or make your own.
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If this doesn’t interest you, don’t forget it’s also national sneak some zucchini on your neighbor’s porch day. You choose. But, I digress.
Good luck finding a frozen custard store, though. If you don’t live in a major metropolitan area, the customer base is too small to warrant a shop dedicated to the treat. There are only a handful of frozen custard franchises out there, compared to “ice cream” shops. And, people get a little scared when they see the name. The typical response is: “Ice cream is great. But, what the heck is frozen custard?” People associate custard with pies and tarts. So, the concept of frozen custard just seems a little abstract, even though it is ice cream. Perhaps they need a South Park style re-brand to garner some excitement. Although, last year, frozen custard sales increased 134% while frozen yogurt sales plummeted. But, it’s still a tough sell since the overall trend is toward dairy free and vegan products.
Why the resistance to let Custard meet the Freezer?
Over the last few years, the cost of goods has gone up dramatically. One of the biggest jumps is the price of eggs. That increased cost passes onto the consumer, making frozen custard more expensive than ice cream.
But, does price really influence the sale of frozen desserts? Hardly. The price of everything is up: sugar, dairy, even the packaging are all more expensive. And, on a hot day, people will pay more for a sweet and cold treat. So, the real problem is in the name. Custard is not an appealing sounding name. Often, people just omit the name. The term French, as in French vanilla may appear on a label. Sometimes, the egg isn’t even mentioned, except in the allergy warning. Gelato used to be a custard based dessert. Although, most versions today are simply dairy based.
According to the FDA, to qualify as a frozen custard, you need a minimum 10% milk fat and 1.4% egg yolk. By not using the name, the manufacturer doesn’t have to meet those criteria. So, they save on eggs, keeping the cost down. Ice cream must meet that 10% fat threshold. But, gelato only needs 3.5%. Hence the reason gelato sales have increased dramatically in recent years. When I was a kid, I remember having a choice between ice cream and ice milk. Ice milk was cheap, and it didn’t sell well. Incorporating the fancy sounding “gelato” into the lexicon changed that.
Time for a re-brand?
Here is some classic re-branding. It’s not ice milk. It’s a version of gelato or low fat ice cream. So, instead of being the cheapest item in the freezer, you can now charge premium prices for an inferior product. So, why can’t we do the same thing with frozen custard? Gelato is a misused term today since it should have egg in it. It really is frozen custard. But, the FDA doesn’t have strict rules over the classification. Since egg isn’t a required ingredient, you don’t know what you’re getting.
Gelato could have been the re-brand for frozen custard to increase sales. But, the lack of regulation resulted in non custard alternatives.
Maybe it’s time to use some fancy sounding French terms. Custards go by different names in classical French cooking. Think creme anglaise or creme patissiere. Add congele and you have “ice pastry cream”. Or, maybe Spanish flan congelado could be a thing. Maybe it needs a silly name like Ouefy or OVOcreme. Okay, I suck at marketing. But, you get the idea.
Or, we can just keep it to ourselves. How many things do you know in life that are “under-appreciated”? Think of a lesser known band, let’s say “the Vapors”. Most people would say: “who?” You know, the guys who did “turning Japanese“… Oh, them… who? They aren’t a household name. But, those of us who know their music appreciate it more than a mass audience would. They have 3 studio albums and some of the catchiest hooks in power pop music. While making a ton of money may have been nice, they have a more appreciative audience, and aren’t simply background music. Sometimes staying in a niche is where things need to be.
No mass production
When you mass produce something, it loses its charm. The ice cream industry itself is very niche oriented. The most sold ice cream in the country isn’t a single brand. The moniker: “private label” outsells Ben and Jerry by about 30%. So, that means your local creamery is the favorite. And, even Ben and Jerry have come a long way down in originality and up in profits. When they first started, they were an Earthy crunchy brand using the highest quality ingredients and an unpretentious feel. They were, literally, a couple hippies who opened an ice cream shop in an old gas station in Vermont. In 2000, the multinational conglomerate, Unilever, bought the company. The use of gimmicks to sell ice cream is part and parcel of the company now. Cherry Garcia, The Tonight dough, and Americone Dream all use celebrity endorsements to boost them into the top ten flavors.
Now, they sell close to a billion dollars of ice cream per year. They have shops, literally, all over the world. And, they are in supermarket freezers. There is no way the ice cream you get in Singapore is the same as what they sold in Vermont 40 years ago. Hence, the reason why freestanding “private label” companies outsell even a giant juggernaut like that.
So, let’s keep Frozen custard truer to its roots. It may not be for everyone. But, not everyone is appreciative of some of the finer things. Remember, the number one and two top selling ice creams in the world are vanilla and chocolate. Not very adventurous. So let’s keep this to ourselves.
How did we get here?
While eggs in ice cream have been around since the 17th century, frozen custard didn’t have a market until the 20th century. This makes sense since that’s when electric refrigerators came on the scene. According to some, the first commercially available frozen custard was in Coney Island in 1919. In the 1920’s a Tennis Pro named Theodore R Drewes sold frozen custard in Traveling carnivals until he finally opened a frozen Custard store in his hometown of Minneapolis in 1930. Within a decade he opened 2 more stores. One of his stores remains as the longest operating frozen custard store in the world.
Frozen custard was introduced to the rest of the world at the 1933 world fair in Chicago. It didn’t go far, though. Milwaukee, WI became the so called “Frozen Custard Capitol” of the world shortly thereafter. There are still a few chains of Frozen Custard stores throughout the country. But, most of them are regional. Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers is probably the biggest chain with over 300 locations. But, they aren’t strictly custard. Needless to say, you need to seek out Frozen custard, and hope it’s available near you.
This is why we say Custard meet the (home) Freezer
Since you may or may not find it in your local grocer’s freezer or a free standing store, Your best bet for getting your hands on this delicacy is to make it yourself. Luckily, it’s pretty much the same concept as ice cream making. And, you can get an ice cream making machine for short money. Then, you, simply, store it in your freezer. The process takes a little more time than plain ice cream since you have to cook the custard first. It’s more about the cool down time, and the delicate treatment of the yolks. Before the custard meets the freezer, it requires proper tempering.
A few easy steps for custard to meet the freezer
The steps are straightforward. But, you do want to be careful how you handle the eggs. If your cream is too hot and you don’t properly stir, you could end up with scrambled eggs. This is the same concept in making any custard or pastry cream. So, it goes like this: simmer your cream. In a separate bowl whisk your eggs and sugar. Mix a little hot cream with the eggs, and stir to incorporate the heat slowly. Add it in a bit at a time until the egg mixture is cooked by the hot cream. If you are making chocolate or something like coffee or caramel, add those ingredients in while hot to allow the flavors to blend. If you want something like chunks of fruit, add them during the churning process.
Once you have the custard base, Chill it down. You can do this in the fridge or over an ice bath. I prefer this method as you can stir it and aid in the final consistency. You want the mixture as cold as possible, so it may require additional refrigeration too. Next, you transfer it to your ice cream churner. This is usually a chilled bowl with a paddle. The paddle adds air and distributes the coldness until the custard becomes “iced”. Depending on your ice cream maker, the product may be ready at this point. But, for best results it’s time for custard to meet the freezer. Once it sets up, you can scoop and serve.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s make some frozen Custard. Of course, we add booze to ours. Good luck finding that in any store.
Chocolate Mudslide Frozen Custard
Equipment
- Ice cream maker
Ingredients
- 2 Quarts Heavy Cream
- 5 Large Egg Yolks
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Irish Cream like Baileys
- 1/4 Cup Vodka
- 1/4 Cup Kahlua or other liqueur
- 1 Cup Baking chocolate or Chocolate Chips
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk Sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks together until they become pale and fluffy like a Bearnaise sauce.
- Heat the cream until it comes to a simmer. Whisk in the chocolate until it melts evenly. remove from the heat.
- Add the Hot liquid to the eggs, whisking constantly, one ladle at a time. The Heat of the cream will cook the eggs, so keep it moving so the eggs don't scramble. Add in the booze at this time.
- Col the mixture by placing the mixing bowl into a larger mixing bowl filled with ice. Stir and whisk until it is completely cold. For best results, once cool, put in a fridge or freezer before moving to the ice cream maker. The colder it is to start, the better it will work.
- Once properly chilled, Transfer to the bowl of an ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer's instructions to churn the custard. When done, transfer the frozen custard to a plastic or metal container, and put it in the freezer. It should set up enough to scoop within a couple hours.