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| ABC7 Video Clip Milwaukee has "Kop's." Madison adores "Michael's." in St. |
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print story|email storylast updated: 7/21/2004
Hungry Hound: Custard cravings
By Steve DolinskyJuly 21, 2004 ¡ª July is National Ice Cream Month, the perfect excuse to sample some frozen treats and to celebrate. Today's topic: custard.
ABC7 Video Clip
Milwaukee has "Kop's." Madison adores "Michael's." in St. Louis, they practically worship "Ted Drews." We're talking about frozen custard stands, which are limited in Illinois. National chains like "Culver's" have a half dozen locations in the collar counties but a few independently-owned custard stands have opened recently, giving fans a chance to sample the creamy, dense treats without the usual guilt associated with ice cream.
A summer day, and the time is right for a few good licks of frozen custard. More dense than ice cream, fans flock to Greg's Frozen Custard in Mundelein for the real thing. Shakes and malts are options or, just have it in a cone. Greg says once customers try it, they're hooked.
"A custard is more solid product, has no water added to it compared to an ice cream product, after you freeze it even, you don't get the crystals," said Greg DiPiero, Greg's Frozen Custard.
Like most custard machines, you can only make two flavors at a time. Vanilla and chocolate are pretty standard. The creativity comes in the form of add-ins.
"Pistachio and butter pecan is very popular and then we have a turtle sundae that is just the top seller." And for good reason: three scoops of vanilla custard are layered with fresh hot fudge and caramel sauce...plus a sprinkling of pecans and of course, a cherry on top. Deciding between a shake, a sundae or a cone will be the biggest challenge you face.
In the city, there's just one choice when it comes to finding homemade frozen custard: Scooter's on West Belmont, which has quickly become a hit with parents and kids. Again, just two flavors are made each day, but that doesn't seem to bother loyal customers.
"By virtue of the fact we add very little air, very tiny ice crystals, we end up with a very dense, rich, flavor, and a very dense, rich product that actually fools your brain into thinking this is something that's really bad for me," said Denny Moore, Scooter's Frozen Custard.
The butterfat content at Scooter's hovers around 10 percent; that's far below the richest ice cream. If you opt out of a cone, try a "concrete" - that's custard-speak for a shake - so named because if you turn it upside down, it won't move, just like concrete. Moore says by adding a little over one percent egg yolk to the custard mixture, they're able to create a richer product that isn't fattier.
"That lends itself to both enhancing the flavor of the product and contributes significantly to the nice, dense, rich texture of the product."
Another good custard stand in McHenry County is Julie Ann's Frozen Custard, they've got locations in Crystal Lake and Woodstock.
Featured Custard Stands:
Greg's Frozen Custard
1490 S. Lake St., Mundelein
847-837-4175
Scooter's
1658 W. Belmont Ave.
773-244-6415
Also mentioned:
Culver's Custard
10 locations in Chicagoland
www.culvers.com
Julie Ann's Frozen Custard
4817 N. NW Hwy., Crystal Lake
815-459-9171
(also in Woodstock, 815-337-5555)
You can see the ABC7 report by clicking on the video icon above. You will need Real Player 8 to view this video.You can get it FREE by clicking here. NOTE: Video clips will only be available for 10-days from the date they were created.NOTE: Security updates available for Real Player.
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