Frozen Delights

When the weather heats up, cool off with this Midwestern specialty.

Some cities have ice cream parlors. Others have gelaterias.  
Milwaukee has frozen custard stands. Though its “Cream City” moniker refers to the limestone bricks that dot the façades of many buildings, it could just as easily refer to Milwaukeeans’ love of this sweet treat.

While frozen custard looks like ice cream, it has a richer, more velvety taste. Genuine frozen custard is sort of like an ultra-premium ice cream with stringent standards: It must have at least  
1.4 percent egg yolks. It also is made differently than regular ice creams, frozen yogurts and soft-serves.

Frozen custard is chilled before it goes into a freezing chamber, where beaters await, working the concoction until it has reached the desired consistency. It is then pushed out the front of the machine and into buckets. Ice cream, by contrast, is made in a batch freezer, where the mixture remains in the machine. Because custard isn’t held in a freezer, very little air gets whipped into its dairy goodness. That dense and luxurious feel is further accentuated by its temperature: Frozen custard is served at around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to ice cream’s cooler minus 10 degrees.

Custard stands can be found throughout Milwaukee and its suburbs, here’s some of the best:

KOPP’S FROZEN CUSTARD
Glendale: 414-961-3288
Brookfield: 262-789-9490
Greenfield: 414-282-4312 www.kopps.com
While each location serves up great custards and burgers, Glendale’s is the only one that has fiberglass statues of cows out back.

BELLA’S FAT CAT
Milwaukee: 414-431-8480
Milwaukee: 414-747-9746 www.bellasfatcat.net
A relative newcomer to the local custard scene, this shop has found not one, but two great locations, both of which are close to all the action and shopping of downtown.

GILLES FROZEN CUSTARD
Milwaukee: 414-453-4875 www.gillesfrozencustard.com
Founded in 1938 by Paul Gilles, this is the oldest stand in the city. The brand can also be found in supermarkets throughout the Midwest, but the store-bought deviates from the original recipe.

LEON’S FROZEN CUSTARD
Milwaukee: 414-383-1784
Arnold’s of “Happy Days” fame was modeled on this South Side stand. The custard is so good you can find long lines snaking outside the shop even in the dead of cold Milwaukee winters.