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Frozen Custard / Gelato / Ice Cream

went to shake shack on recs for hamburg and fries from this board - total success. the shake burger was just perfect. i ordered mine without the shack sauce (it was a calories decision) but took a bite of my partners who had the burger with shack sauce (it was a partner's perogative) OMG - my delicious burger palled before my eyes - next time i'm doing the whole burger with shack sauce.

While there i also ordered the frozen custard ... i've heard about frozen custard but never had it. I was wowed. really quite delicious - i think creamer than ice cream. which got me thinking - does anyone know the difference between Frozen Custard / Gelato / and Ice Cream? i looked up Gelato in Websters and i got "Italian Ice Cream" - not helpful. I'm wondering is one less fattening or more "healthy" than the other? Now i'm definitely going to have to try Grom's want to compare the Gelato to the Frozen Custard.

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  1. Traditionally, gelato has less air whipped into it than ice cream, which makes it denser. And maybe custard is more eggy? But someone else is sure to have more precise and detailed info.

    1. Frozen custard has more egg yolk and milk fat than ice cream, and generally has less air beaten into it, so it's more dense. It's heavier (more caloric) than ice cream. Gelato is made with milk, not cream and supposedly less caloric than ice cream. (I guess that's why gelato tends to taste better to me in the summer and frozen custard better in the winter.)

      Thanks for the shake shack report! I've still never been, mostly b/c it's far away and I'm too lazy to travel a long distance and then wait in line. What's in the sauce, do you know?

      5 Replies
      1. re: cimui

        re: what's in the sauce - does heaven sound too cliche? - i really don't know cimui - but i will say the line went rather fast and it was a great opportunity to talk to and meet the people around me - the very nice woman in front of me actually writes a column for Chowhound - she didn't offer her name - i think it's on cooking products AND she was brought into Manhattan from Chicago to be a judge on Top Chef - how fun is that - she was a hoot - so my point - line not such a bad thing.

        1. re: JoeMark

          Well, "heaven" isn't as descriptive of the ingredients as what I was hoping for, but fair enough! =) I don't always mind long lines, but it's the getting there from, and back to, work at lunch time (and the getting out of work before 8:30) part that does me in. The one time I had an excuse to be down in that area during the day, at the courthouse, I had to run back to work right away. Boo!

          1. re: cimui

            Um, could the mysterious sauce be something called mayonnaise?

            1. re: KateC.

              Shack Sauce = dijon mustard, yellow mustard, fresh mayonnaise, tomato puree, onions, pickles, garlic, chipotle.

              1. re: kathryn

                Nice sleuthing! How'd you find that out? It's a little like thousand island dressing... Hmm...

      2. I lived in Wisconsin for 7 years and ate lots of great custard from Michael's in Madison and Kopp's in Milwaukee- and I miss them! Anyway, it seems to me that the process of making custard and gelato are similar- both entail using a horizontal mixer that incorporates less air than trad ice cream, and that makes a product that is best served at a temperature higher than that for ice cream- so it's creamier and more luscious.

        Incidentally, gelato CAN be made with milk instead of cream but need not be- in fact "sorbetti" are also "gelati," just non-dairy. Milk, cream or juice based are all gelati as long as they're made in a gelato maker.

        1. The best frozen custard around is in NY...Only NYS. somewhere near a town called White Lake, NY. The place is called Kandy Kone. Do a fall folliage thing. Stop at the famous Roscoe Diner in Roscoe NY, for an old styled diner experience and then track down the Kandy Kone for their amazingly dense cones or cups... Add real hot fudge for a complete shattering of your diet... I cannot wait to go in a couple of weeks! We pretend it's for the folliage, but it's all about the frozen custard. :-}

          1 Reply
          1. re: Tay

            So you've had it in Wisconsin and St Louis (etc)? I have, and have had it in upstate NY (around Buffalo), and I think Wisconsin is tops.

          2. Like someone mentioned, gelato need not be made with dairy at all. Generally, it's stored at a higher temp than ice cream.

            1 Reply