Frozen Custard

About Frozen Custard

Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It typically contains 10% butterfat and 1.4% egg yolk.

Using a process called overrun, air is blended into the mixture of ingredients until its volume increases by approximately 20%. By comparison, ice cream may have an overrun as large as 100% - meaning half of the final product is composed of air. The high percentage of butterfat and egg yolk gives frozen custard a thick, creamy texture and a smoother, softer consistency than ice cream. Frozen custard is most often served at -8 degrees C (18 degrees F) (4 degrees C warmer (8 degrees F) than the -12 degrees C (10 degrees F) at which ice cream is served).

Frozen custard is usually prepared fresh at the place of sale, rather than stored; however, it is occasionally available in supermarkets or by mail order. Generally, modern frozen custard stands provide only three different flavors per day: vanilla, chocolate, and a unique “flavor of the day”. Flavor of the day calendars are usually made available by the store either in paper form or online. The older vintage custard stands tend to have a dozen or so standard flavors.