Name that Ice Cream!

During a recent interview with Lance, co-owner of Rhapsodies in Oshkosh, I once again suggested a new sundae.  Imagine the following flavors blending together:

Start with a base of chocolate custard.

Drizzle with delectable caramel.

Top with crushed Butterfinger.

Lance agreed to the new sundae.  Remember, everything at Rhapsodies is a music name.

Vote here!

Rhapsodies, Oshkosh, WI

If you are in Oshkosh, for EAA and in need of a cool treat,  check out my favorite place,  Rhapsodies! 

The decor is music themed and so are the treats! 

There's a new flavor every day! 

Rhapsodies serves frozen custard,  made fresh daily. 

Visit owners Dan and Lance Geffers. They are located at 1226 Oregon Street.

http://rhapsodiesfrozencustard.net/

Check back soon for more details and history. Also find out what my favorite sundae is. Let's see if we can convince Lance to add it to the menu!

Soft Serve, Ice Cream or Frozen Custard?

What are the differences you may ask.  There are two main differences.

1. Overrun or the amount of air pushed into the product
2. Milk fat content = taste and calories!

I will explain what varying levels of these will produce.  

The more overrun and less milk fat, the lighter the product and less calories.  Soft serve or ice milk has the most air and least amount of milk fat at 5%.  If you are looking strictly at calories, this has the least. You can often find soft serve at fast food chains such as Dairy Queen, Hardees and McDonald's.

You will see the twist that is characteristic of soft serve.  This is from the machine that it is pumped out of.

It is easy to add flavor and color to soft serve.  I don't know if I could eat purple soft serve!

Less overrun (air) and higher milk fat means the product will be more creamy.  Ice cream is regulated by the FDA to have at least 10% milk fat and be frozen at a lower temperature.  This may be of interest to the state health inspector but to me, it simply means a creamier and harder frozen treat.  Ice cream is harder and thus hand scooped.  When you see those signs that they hand scoop, it's not to impress upon you that they work harder.  It simply means it is ice cream not soft serve.

Frozen custard has the highest amount of milk fat.  It also has more than 1.4% egg yolk solids.  This gives it the smooth dense consistency.  Frozen custard is my favorite!

Notice how creamy and smooth the custard looks, yes chocolate!

I'll sum this up for you.  

Soft serve: less milk fat = less cost = less flavor

Ice cream: higher milk fat = higher cost = better flavor

Frozen custard: higher milk fat + egg yolk = highest cost = best flavor and smoothest consistency

You are already sacrificing your calorie count for the day because you are succumbing to the desire for dessert.  Why not get the highest quality?  Enjoy your ice cream or frozen custard!

FDA information taken from
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=135.110

Milk fat levels taken from interviews with Mike Schraa, owner of Leon's in Oshkosh, WI and Rick, owner of the former South Side Dairy Queen in Oshkosh, WI.

Turtles Over a Blue Moon

This is what fueled my imagination to write this blog.

Over 20 years ago, I went on a writing adventure with 9 high school classmates at Lourdes Academy in Oshkosh, WI.  We were a hungry bunch in 7th hour Advanced Composition class.  We voted on a writing project that would take us on 6 frozen treat escapades in the city.  

Yes, we were driven by the desire to eat ice cream but not unlike many motivators, this lead us to some actual learning as well.  We learned basic skills in interviewing subjects, draft writing and picked up on many interesting terms such as butter fat content and over run. 

Close to 25 years after this fun project, I still remember the differences between ice milk, ice cream and frozen custard.  My stomach tells me not to worry about the fat content.  The level of satisfaction found in eating this Gilly Cookie Sandwich far outweighs my concern over calories. 

I am still driven by my desire to eat frozen treats and I also recognize my desire to write.  So here I am, a middle aged ice cream loving writer still going on frozen treat escapades.  

Thank you Tim Crimmins, for voicing your idea in Advanced Composition class and to Mrs. Mengeling for making the project a reality.