One of the amazing deserts of the summer is soft custard ice cream — not just soft ice cream — but soft custard.
The Creaminess of the soft custard ice cream is out of this world.
It is officially called Frozen Custard, and what makes it different than regular, soft ice cream is that it uses egg yolks to make it creamy.
The Formula
Soft custard ice cream contains egg yolks and milk fat, giving it a richer, denser, and silkier texture than regular soft ice cream. The US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) Food & Drug Administration (FDA) standards say it should have least 1.4% egg yolk solids and ≥10% buttermilk fat. The yolks act as emulsifiers, creating a smooth, creamy mouthfeel and a slightly richer flavor. Frozen custard ice cream is also spun at a slower pace for a shorter amount of time, churning as little air as possible into the machine in order to achieve a denser texture than regular, soft ice cream.
Regular soft ice cream is made from milk, cream, sugar, and flavorings. It does not contain eggs and is lighter and airier. It relies on stabilizers like guar gum or carrageenan to maintain texture.
The Flavors
My favorite soft custard ice cream flavor is vanilla, and right behind it is vanilla swirled with orange cream. Soft custard comes in many flavors: vanilla, chocolate, orange cream, strawberry, raspberry, bubblegum, butterscotch, butter pecan, cotton candy, black cherry, you name it.
Invented by the Kohr’s Brothers in Coney Island
It was invented in Coney Island NY in 1920 by 3 brothers — Archie, Clair, and Elton Kohr — who were of Swiss descent. The 3 young brothers started selling ice cream door-to-door in 1919 out of a horse-drawn wagon and then a Ford Model T Panel truck at ages 26, 21, and 17 respectively. Their uncle Sylvester Kohr told them about a new machine called the Meisenhelter Ice Cream Freezer that made a continuous flow of soft ice cream. They tried the machine but didn’t like the output — so took it apart and redesigned it, creating a soft ice cream that they felt was delicious, and at Sylvester’s advice, set up a booth on the boardwalk of Coney Island to sell it.
But the story goes that the salt air of Coney Island made the ice cream melt quickly. From the Kohr’s family history, “Archie and Elton discovered that by adding eggs to the mix, they got a much more stiff, velvety and creamy product which would melt more slowly. Since the brothers never really liked the name ‘Frozen Dessert’ and their product did not fall into the standards of identity for ice cream, they decided to change the product’s name at all their stores to ‘Frozen Custard’.”
In 1923, Elton Kohr branched off from his brothers and started his own store in Atlantic City, NJ, called Kohr’s Frozen Custard, then later branched out to additional stores on the Jersey shore, including the Kohr’s in Seaside Heights, NJ — which still stands and is today their main location. They have 6 locations overall — all on the Jersey Shore:
- 301 Boardwalk, Point Pleasant, NJ
- 800 Boardwalk, Seaside Heights, NJ
- 1107 Boardwalk, Seaside Heights, NJ
- 1807 Boardwalk, Seaside Park, NJ
- 1956 Rt 35 N, Ortley Beach, NJ
- 507 B Grand Central Ave, Lavallette, NJ
At some point the Kohr’s in Coney Island disappeared.
Carvel — Soft Ice Cream, Not Custard
Tom Carvellus entered the story in 1934. He and his wife were selling ice cream from a truck and got a flat tire in Hartsdale, New York on Memorial Day Weekend. As the ice cream started to melt, he sold the soft — now creamier — product as something new. Customers loved it. Soft ice cream was born.
Carvellus opened a Carvel Frozen Custard store in Hartsdale later that year. His soft ice cream was a success, and within 2 years opened a 2nd store and started working on better machinery. He built his first soft-serve ice cream machine in 1939 — which became considered as the first soft-serve ice cream machine — even though it was invented 20 years after Kohr’s.
Carvel became known for soft-serve ice cream — not custard.
Born in Brooklyn, Raised in Milwaukee
Frozen custard soft ice cream stands really took off in the Milwaukee area in the 1930’s — Wisconsin being the leading dairy area of the United States. The 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago brought nationwide attention to the Frozen Custard. Three of the most famous soft custard ice cream stores originated during this time:
- Gilles Frozen Custard opened in 1938,
- Leon’s Frozen Custard opened in 1942, and
- Kopp’s Frozen Custard opened in 1950. They were the first to offer different flavors of soft custard ice cream beyond vanilla and chocolate.
Per capita, Milwaukee currently has the highest concentration of frozen custard shops in the world.
Rochester NY and Abbott’s
When I visited Paycom in Rochester, NY in the early 2000’s on company business, I was advised on leaving that I should check out the soft custard ice cream at Abbott’s — as Rochester was the king of frozen custard and Abbott’s was the most iconic place for it.
Abbott’s was definitely at the forefront of the frozen custard ice cream boom. Abbott’s Frozen Custard was actually founded in 1902, before any of the other stores. Arthur Abbott, its founder, traveled with small carnivals along the eastern seaboard until setting up a shop on Ontario Beach Park in Rochester in 1926.
It is unclear when Abbott’s began making frozen custard ice cream. In 1957, Abbott was in his 70s and sold the business to Leonard and Thelma Schreiber. They soon franchised Abbott’s Frozen Custard locations.
Sources:
How Milwaukee Became the Frozen Custard Capital of the World
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