As we approach the doggiest days of summer and the humid atmosphere sometimes feels like walking at the bottom of a hot swimming pool, it's time to look for some relief from the oppressive heat. For many people, that means a trip to your local frozen custard stand, where creamy, chilly treats await.
Although ice cream and frozen custard are in the same family of dairy products, custard is much richer, thanks to higher butterfat content and the addition of egg yolks to a recipe that dictates slower churning than when making ice cream. If you've ever tried to make a custard at home or attempted to whip up a silky carbonara sauce for your pasta, you've probably discovered that both processes are like a race to not accidentally make scrambled eggs.
Gently heating egg yolks while delicately beating them yields the velvety texture that makes custard so special, and integrating less air into the mixture leads to a denser end product than everyday ice cream. The result is a treat that has the benefit of creamier texture, richer flavors, and the ability to survive in a cup or a cone a little bit longer before melting down your forearm.
Popularized by Coney Island scoop shops in the early 20th century and at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, frozen custard has become an annual rite of summer, especially in the Midwest. Traditionally, small mom-and-pop custard shops closed during the winter when the demand for frozen treats waned, but the expansion of national chains like Culver's and means that custard lovers can scratch the butterfat itch any time of the year.
To help you find your frozen fix, I sampled cups from four national chains. One is a beloved burger chain with custard on its menu, while the others specialize in custards, milkshakes, malts, and concretes (custard with mix-ins).
Here's how all four custard-serving chains fared, ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the overall best.
Shake Shack
Nutrition:
Single Chocolate Cup (Per Serving)
Calories: 310
Fat: 19 g (Saturated Fat: 11 g, Trans Fat: 0.5 g)
Sodium: 120 mg
Carbs: 32 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 29 g)
Protein: 6 g
Shake Shack was the final stop on my custard odyssey, and I was hoping that I saved the best for last. Alas, it was not meant to be. However, I did find a surprising new favorite during that fateful visit. The popular New York-based chain offers regular frozen custard in both chocolate and vanilla, as well as a non-dairy version of the chocolate custard. I tried all three flavors, paying $4.29 per cup. I also ended up with two non-dairy chocolate custards instead of one, thanks to an error at the self-service kiosk.
The look:The non-dairy chocolate flavor was a darker color than the regular chocolate custard and had more of a whipped consistency. Meanwhile, the vanilla custard contained noticeably large ice shards that detracted from its otherwise creamy appearance.
The taste: I was so pleasantly surprised by the non-dairy frozen dessert that I was happy to carry the second one home, only speeding a little bit to get it into a freezer. The stuff was so deceptively creamy on the tongue as it melted that you'd be hard-pressed to guess that it was made using the AI-designed dairy substitute NotMilk instead of real milk. The flavor was certainly reminiscent of dark chocolate, but with delightful notes of tropical pineapple and coconut. That second custard in my freezer did not survive the evening.
However, the regular custard cup disappointed me, and I'm certainly glad I only ordered one of them. Ostensibly a split scoop between chocolate and vanilla, the custard didn't even come close to peeking (or peaking) over the edge of the cup. The vanilla tasted more like sweet cream than custard, though the chocolate at least had a strong cacao flavor. The icy shards in the vanilla ruined whatever creaminess the custard might have had. Worse, the first small dig of a spoon into the chocolate revealed a hollow core, an old trick of frozen yogurt and soft-serve establishments to make it look like customers are getting more than they actually are.
Between paying for the air in the middle of the chocolate and the water in the ice chunks throughout the vanilla, that $4.29 cup didn't make this particular guest as "delighted" as Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer was probably aiming for. Hopefully, I just caught the chain on an off day, and that non-dairy chocolate custard was enough of a revelation to make me leave at least a little happy.
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Nutrition:
Mini Vanilla Dish (Per Serving)
Calories: 350
Fat: 17 g (Saturated Fat: 10 g)
Sodium: 130 mg
Carbs: 37 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 30 g)
Protein: 7 g
Freddy's is a long-time player in the frozen custard game, named after one of its founders at the original burger joint in Wichita, Kan., in 2002. Freddy Simon was a World War II hero, and historical photos of him adorn the walls of his restaurants. Freddy's origin as a burger and custard restaurant still resonates on today's menu with a wide array of fast-food burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs available in addition to the frozen treats.
The kitchen churns custard throughout the day in smaller batches, and that freshness is discernible in the cup. Knowing that many guests are there for the full meal, Freddy's offers an ingenious "Custard on Hold" program where you can order and pay for your entire meal and simply return to the counter for dessert when you're ready. No sense rushing through a delicious burger to keep your custard from melting!
I ordered a mini dish of vanilla for $4.29 and also a mini-sized PBC & B concrete, made with vanilla custard, Reese's peanut butter cups, and bananas, for $5.19.
The look: Freddy's vanilla was a plain Jane scoop of bright white custard with an ultra-smooth consistency, served simply in a cup. The PBC & B concrete was served as a sundae with a cloud of frothy whipped cream and a perfectly artificial-looking bright red cherry perched on top.
The taste:The custard was smooth and dense with rich dairy and vanilla flavors. Its freshness was immediately apparent in its straightforward consistency and delightfully strong vanilla flavor. The tasty custard proved a delicious base for the sundae, too. From the custard to the banana chunks to the chocolaty peanut butter cups, each element tasted fresh, distinct, and exactly like what you'd expect. Elvis Presley, a noted fan of the peanut butter and banana combo, would be proud!
Andy's Frozen Custard
Nutrition:
Vanilla Frozen Custard (Per 4-oz. Serving)
Calories: 200
Fat: 10 g (Saturated Fat: 6 g)
Sodium: 75 mg
Carbs: 21 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 17 g)
Protein: 4 g
Andy's is all about the speedy service, offering walk-up and drive-through windows with very little seating. (Hence, the car hood custard photo.) The lines to order a frozen treat at Andy's move fast, ensuring that any back-seat child tantrums will quickly abate with an immediate application of custard bribery.
Even the small size at Andy's is pretty big, a full 5.5 ounces of frozen goodness that is quite filling. Choosing your custard flavor is easy, either vanilla or chocolate. After that, your options are legion with a long list of mix-ins for concretes, sundaes, and splits. There's also an Andy's specialty called a "jackhammer," basically a concrete with the center filled with delicious, gooey hot fudge.
I ordered a small size of both both vanilla and chocolate for $5.49 each.
The look: Andy's vanilla was bright white, like the sand of a Florida panhandle beach, which would be a perfect place to enjoy one if the chain had any locations in that part of the state. The chocolate custard had the color and consistency of a thick chocolate milkshake, making it a great base for the mix-ins and fudge syrup of the chain's jackhammer option.
The taste: The vanilla custard at Andy's is a little more subtle than it is at other chains—more of a sweet milk flavor than exotic Madagascar-sourced vanilla beans or anything like that. Meanwhile, the chocolate tasted a little bit sweeter than others, and the consistency was not as dense. Andy's custard begs for some add-ins, and the chain has plenty on offer if you want to dress up your cup. Still, finishing a small size at Andy's is a bit of an accomplishment, and the pint- and quart-sized to-go options might be the better play, if you remembered to throw a cooler in the car.
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Culver's
Nutrition:
Vanilla Frozen Custard (Per 1 Scoop)
Calories: 310
Fat: 19 g (Saturated Fat: 11 g, Trans Fat: 0.5 g)
Sodium: 85 mg
Carbs: 31 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 27 g)
Protein: 6 g
Wisconsin-based Culver's is a custard powerhouse, known for its craveable ButterBurgers and seemingly innumerable variety of toppings and mix-ins for its frozen custards, shakes, malts, concretes, and sundaes. I ordered a small size of the vanilla and chocolate custards for $2.49 each.
The look: The vanilla was so snowy white that it could probably lower your core temperature a few degrees just by looking at it, while Culver's chocolate custard was a slightly surprisingcolor, almost an ash gray instead of the expected cocoa brown.
The taste: The vanilla flavor was strong and natural-tasting. Even without all the accouterments, a cup of the cold, dense, and creamy vanilla custard felt like the perfect antidote for a hot, humid summer day.
Meanwhile, chocolate lovers will appreciate the nice cocoa elements with just a hint of bitterness—it's more reminiscent of dark rather than milk chocolate. The sweet and bitter were nicely balanced, and the milky smooth custard was dense enough to survive the heat long enough to finish my final spoonful before it melted.
You'll be impressed by the high quality of either flavor you choose, making Culver's frozen custard hard to beat.
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