Frozen custard v. ice cream

What's the difference between frozen custard, soft serve ice cream and regular ice cream? It boils down to - though not literally for each of these frozen desserts - a question of eggs and creamy milk.

A proper frozen custard should be made from at least 1.4 percent egg yolks and 10 percent butterfat - a higher percentage than used in standard ice cream. Over 18 percent butterfat isn't rare. So it provides in mouthfeel the difference you find between skimmed milk, say, and whole milk. Or cream and 2 percent milk. Yet good frozen custard is lower in calories than Ben & Jerry's or Haagen Daz ice creams.

It's made in machines designed expressly for the purpose. A freezing chamber is lined with slow-turning beaters that gently churn the custard before pushing it out ready for immediate serving. It isn't pumped with air, like soft-serve and some ice creams, nor does it sit inside the machine waiting for use. It's freshly made and freshly served. Because it's labor intensive to produce, frozen custard stands can only offer a small range of flavors, usually limited to chocolate, a changing fantasy flavor and the classic vanilla - which is generally the best of them all.

The Mid West is credited with inventing the glorious stuff, which has spread in popularity across to the East Coast. There are a number of outlets in the Washington DC area that now sell very good versions of it.

The Dairy Godmother, 2308 Mount Vernon Ave, Alexandria, 703 683 7767
www.thedairygodmother.com;
Dickey's Frozen Custard, 1710 I St NW, 202 861 0669;
Rita's Ice Custard Happiness, 781 Florida Ave NW, 202 332 7482, www.ritasice.com.