The Texan Handbook to Frozen Custard
Midwesterners know that frozen custard isn’t synonymous with ice cream, and as the custard business picks up in Texas, more and more Texans are learning the difference, too.
While ice cream is made with milk and sugar, frozen custard uses egg yolks to create a thicker, creamier consistency. In frozen custard culture, the thicker, the better: Some custard shacks even blend in candies or cookies to create what’s called “concrete.”
While that Midwestern custard culture is rapidly growing across Texas today, the iconic dessert’s history goes back more than 100 years.
A Frozen Custard History
Frozen custard dates back to the summer of 1919, when two ice cream vendors in Coney Island, New York—Archie and Elton Kohr—tried adding egg yolks to their ice cream recipe. They found that the new ingredient created a thicker, creamier concoction that stayed cooler longer than traditional ice cream (and, therefore, wouldn’t melt as quickly on summer days).
It was hot from the start: Tourists on the Coney Island boardwalk ate more than 18,000 cones of the Kohrs’ frozen custard in its debut weekend.
Fast forward to 1933, when a frozen custard stand at the World’s Fair in Chicago expanded the summer sensation to the Midwest. It didn’t take long for frozen custard shacks and shops to start popping up all over Chicago, St. Louis, Wichita, and especially Milwaukee, which claims the unofficial title of “frozen custard capital of the world.”
Because Texas summers regularly reach triple-digit temps, it didn’t take long for the frozen custard craze to arrive here, with the big boom happening in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In more recent years, Midwestern chains have been looking at Texas as prime real estate to expand their custard empires into.
Best Midwest Frozen Custards in Texas
Here are the three big-name frozen custard shops from the Midwest whose names are growing in Texas. And Texans couldn’t be happier.
Andy’s Frozen Custard: Missouri-born custard chain Andy’s has built more than 100 locations since it started in 1986—30 of which are right here in Texas. Andy’s claims to be the largest dessert-only franchise in the world, and it’s no surprise: Their menu consists of concretes, malts, sundaes, floats, and even six-pack pints of custard to-go.
Culver’s: Culver’s was founded in small-town Wisconsin back in 1984, and while many recognize it for its iconic ButterBurger, that’s only half the story. They sling out multiple batches of slow-churned frozen custard daily, mixing up all kinds of creamy confections. Culver’s was a Midwest-exclusive operation until 1998, when they opened a location in Texas. Today, 14 locations across the state serve up their iconic rotating “Flavor of the Day.”
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers: When Bill and Randy Simon opened their first frozen custard and steakburger joint in Wichita in 2002, they named it after their father, Freddy Simon, a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient. The franchise boomed in a few short years, and now there are more than 400 Freddy’s locations around the country, with 63 in Texas—until 2022, when the chain announced they’d be opening 57 more due to popular demand.
If there are no custard shacks or shops near you, don’t worry. Learn how to handmake your own frozen custard with our easy DIY recipe.
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