What is Frozen Custard?

Believe it or not, once upon a time, all frozen dairy treats were what we now call frozen custard. In fact, most of the ice cream people make at home is technically frozen custard.

“Custard is thicker, richer and creamier than ice cream,” Chris Barnhart, an employee of Fritz’s Frozen Custard in Florissant, said. “The secret is we still use the egg yolk in our recipe. It’s a lot more creamy and delicate. I think it also makes for a better taste than ice cream.”

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, by federal law, a product sold as ice cream has to contain at least 10 percent milk fat. It can be sold in any form from the familiar densely packed Ben and Jerry’s pints to soft serve.

Frozen yogurt is similar to ice cream but can be made from milk instead of cream. This means a somewhat lower calorie and fat content. The yogurt part of the name comes from the probiotic yogurt powder included in recipes.

Frozen custard has the same minimum 10 percent milk fat requirement as ice cream with the addition of at least 1.4 percent egg yolks.

“Our frozen custard is a little bit softer than the hard ice cream you get out of a quart,” Abby Stewart, an employee at Doozle’s Frozen Custard, said. “Frozen custard is a lot creamier than scoops of ice cream. That makes it better for cones, concretes, or anything people want to make. Plus, we make it right here on site.” 

Barnhart agreed that frozen custard is more mixable than ice cream.

“It mixes well with any toppings. It’s soft enough to mix things in but creamy enough it doesn’t all melt away. A lot of people love it. I guess that’s why we’ve been in business for over 20 years.”

During the month of August, Florissant Patch is rating our local frozen custard shops.

Stay tuned every week to see what our impartial panel of food judges has to say.