Recipe Mutiny steals recipes from food blogs and recipe sites. Then we publish them. With credit (Naturally).
Friday, March 22, 2019
What Is the Difference Between Ice Cream and Custard?
“What’s the difference between ice cream and frozen custard?” is something you might ask yourself on a hot summer day when contemplating a trip to either Dairy Queen or Culver’s (a midwest chain that specializes in butterburgers and frozen custard). Me? If the question concerns frozen, creamy desserts, I’m likely to contemplate it any time. Case in point: It’s 35 degrees out in Chicago right now, and I’m writing about the distinction between two sugary, chilled desserts. What can I say? My taste buds listen to my sweet tooth!
While ice cream and frozen custard are pretty similar in that they are both desserts, both delicious, both creamy, and both frozen, the difference between them can be addressed along five key areas:
Ingredients
When making vanilla ice cream, I use four ingredients: heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, and vanilla. That’s it. Sure, it’s high in calories. But I’m making ice cream, not a kale loaf (not sure if that’s a thing), so I splurge, and use the high fat content dairy. As for custard, it uses all that stuff and two more particular ingredients. First, and the stars of the show, are egg yolks. The second is salt (you can use salt in ice cream too, I just don’t). To be precise, the USDA specifies that frozen custards must have 1.4 percent egg yolk and 10 percent milkfat to be considered as such. If the egg yolk content is lower, it’s officially considered an ice cream instead.
David Lebovitz
Consistency/Texture
The egg yolk and salt combination in custard ensures a dense consistency and smooth texture—kind of like yogurt or pudding. Sure, ice cream can be dense and smooth, but not like frozen custard. Consider this: Some soft serve ice creams can be composed of 50 percent air. Frozen custard’s air content is significantly lower. Don’t get me wrong, I like soft serve a lot. It just has an airier texture to it than frozen custard does. It’s weird to say, but custard has a more creamy texture than ice cream.
Chowhound
Serving Temperature
Did you know that the egg yolks in custard allow it to be served at a higher temperature than ice cream? You might think to yourself, “So what?” Well, if you happen to run a frozen custard stand, or local shop, like Andy’s Frozen Custard, you’ll likely spend less on refrigeration. And if you’re just a frozen custard consumer, this means a creamy, frozen dessert that will melt less than traditional soft serve ice cream. Typically, ice cream is served at 10 degrees Fahrenheit, while frozen custard is served at 18 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Preparation
If you have the right tools, like an ice cream maker, you can make ice cream, and even frozen yogurt, in about 30 minutes. Custard takes a lot longer. Why? ‘Cause of those egg yolks. In order to ensure the safety of the eggs, and achieve the proper texture, you have to dissolve ingredients, temper/heat your custard mixture, then cool it down, then freeze it. This takes a lot longer than the process required for ice cream—dissolving sugar in heavy cream and whole milk, sprinkling in some vanilla, pouring the mixture into your ice cream machine, and waiting about 25 minutes. All told, custard, on the other hand, could take four and a half hours, or even a full day.
Chowhound
Nutritional Content
I’m not really sure you can say that ice cream or frozen custard are health foods. That being said, custard seems to be a healthier option. On average, it tends to have less fat, fewer calories, and more protein. I mean, if you’re really concerned, your best bet is frozen yogurt. Actually, if you’re really really concerned, you should just have a piece of fresh fruit.
Are you a fan of chilled desserts? Then you’ve probably encountered ice cream and frozen custard and wondered, “What’s the difference?” After reading this article, I’m sure you feel better equipped to answer that question. As the weather gets warmer, hopefully you get to sample all sorts of creamy frozen desserts, from French made ice cream, soft serve, frozen yogurt, and frozen custard. I know they’re high-fat, high-calorie foods, but they’re also high in something else—goodness. Interested in making your own? Try this Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe, or this Frozen Custard recipe—or both!
Cuisinart ICE-21 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker, $42 on Amazon
Make ice cream, custard, or frozen yogurt in any flavor you can dream up at home. You know you want to.
Related Video: How to Make a Superfood-Infused Ice Cream with Moringa
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Homemade Healthy Snacks: These Superpower Energy Bars Are Easy and Delicious
Healthy snacks are absolutely possible, but even the least processed granola bar at the grocery store can’t come close to the flavor and texture of homemade. So we whipped up four fantastic healthy granola bar recipes that are easy to make at home, and give new meaning to the term superfood.
When your blood sugar plummets and a fresh apple is nowhere in sight, that smashed energy bar at the bottom of your bag is a godsend. It’s portable and mess-free, and will buy you time until your next meal. It may also contain alien ingredients like hydrolyzed collagen and soy protein isolate. Even if it doesn’t, it probably won’t taste all that good. But you’re desperate, right?
Packaged snacks have come a long way since we originally wrote that (in 2010), and you can find good ready-made options of all sorts, from gluten-free and non-GMO versions to probiotic-packed snack bars, but for the healthiest and most delicious bite, we still like to go homemade.
Luckily, as we learned when first reverse-engineering some of the most popular bars of the time, underneath the fancy packaging they’re no more complicated to make than Rice Krispies Treats. Yet they’re packed with super-healthy ingredients like chia seeds, almond butter, brown rice cereal—and completely free of all the things you don’t want, like preservatives and artificial sweeteners. Plus, they’re far cheaper to make than to buy, and you can customize them to your heart’s content.
So hikers and surfers, moms and kids, college students and office workers everywhere—roll up your sleeves and make a batch or two of our Figgy Fuel, Superseed, Cherry Power, and Chocolate Victory bars on a lazy day off. Wrap them in plastic and pop them in the freezer for long-term storage, stash them in an airtight container on the counter for the week, or toss one into your bag, where it will be waiting for you at the bottom like a promise. These bars have power: Harness it.
Figgy Fuel Bar
Chowhound
Fruity and fiber-packed, these figgy bars were modeled on Lärabars, which are already made from all-natural ingredients. We removed the pecans from their original date-pecan-almond formula and added not only dried figs for a heartier chew, but brown rice cereal for a crisp contrast, and vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest, and the faintest zing of black pepper for a fantastic flavor. Swap in a seed butter for the almond butter if you prefer, and feel free to leave the pepper out for picky eaters. Get our Fig Granola Bar recipe.
Superseed Bar
Chowhound
This texture-rich bar is packed full of chia seeds, flax seeds, wheat germ, and crisp brown rice cereal, with cocoa, dates, and a whisper of vanilla for a little sweet chocolate flavor that’s not cloying or artificial. What you can’t taste, but will love knowing is in there too: tons of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, protein, and antioxidants. Also pretty great? These don’t cost $2.50 and upwards a pop! Highway robbery never tastes very good, but superpowers are delicious. Just be sure to use softer, sweeter Medjool dates so their natural sugar and moisture content keep the bars from drying out. Get our Superseed Granola Bar recipe.
Cherry Power Bar
Chowhound
If you like a chewy, oaty, nutty granola bar, you’ll love this one, with pops of sweet-tart flavor from dried cherries, though you can swap in any dried fruit you like best. It’s not too sweet (just a little honey and brown sugar come into play alongside the fruit), but it is delicious (cinnamon and coconut flakes contribute additional layers of flavor), and it will give you plenty of energy to get through the morning or provide a pick-me-up in the afternoon. Get our Cherry Granola Bar recipe.
Chocolate Victory Bar
Chowhound
This follows a similar format as the oat- and nut-filled bar above, but adds a thin layer of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate for those who can’t quit cocoa. It’s still heaps healthier than store-bought chocolate-covered granola bars, but if you want, you could also choose to think of this as a super nutritious candy bar alternative… Get our Chocolate Covered Granola Bar recipe.
Variations
As long as you stick to the given ratios in each recipe and consider the texture and flavor of your individual ingredients, you can mix and match to really make these bars your own. Swap in different combinations of seeds, grains, nuts, dried fruit, and natural sweeteners like honey and agave, and use whatever nut butters or seed butters you prefer. Switch up the spices and feel free to add small amounts of nutritious powders like matcha or moringa, tasting as you go to make sure the flavors stay in balance.
Freezing
If you want to make batches of granola bars ahead of time (and why wouldn’t you?), you can freeze any of these recipes for about three weeks, but ideally no longer than a month for best flavor and texture. Just let them fully cool and set first, cut them into bars, and wrap them individually in plastic (or a more eco-friendly option like Bee’s Wrap), then stash them all together in a plastic bag or freezer-safe reusable container. Take out as many bars as you want to eat on a given day an hour or more before you get hangry, as you’ll want them to come to room temperature before you take a bite.
Shopping List
Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Stack & Snap Food Processor and Vegetable Chopper, $49.99 on Amazon
A food processor makes quick work of blending sticky, dense dates and pulsing harder ingredients to the right size for granola bars.
Wilton Ever-Glide Non-Stick 8-Inch Square Cake Pan, $7.86 at Walmart
If you don't already have a brownie pan...why not? It's also ideal for making uniform granola bars.
Back to Nature Gluten-Free Sprout and Shine Cereal, $7.59 on Amazon
This sprouted whole grain brown rice cereal is a more nutritious alternative to the usual elf-endorsed kind.
Bobs Red Mill Natural Raw Wheat Germ, $6.04 at Walmart
This adds a nice nutritional boost to any bar or baked good, but if you're gluten-free, ground flax is a worthy substitute.
Betterbody Foods Organic Chia Seeds, $8.94 at Walmart
This two-pound tub will last a while, even if you use chia in everything.
Related Video: How to Make Healthy Superfood-Infused Ice Cream with Moringa
All featured products are curated independently by our editors. When you buy something through our retail links, we may receive a commission. For more great hand-picked products, check out the Chowhound Shop.
This post was originally published on August 27, 2010 and was updated with additional links, text, and images on March 22, 2019.
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Chowhound Recommends: Our Favorite Floral Products for Spring
Welcome to Chowhound Recommends, Chowhound’s weekly series where our staff shares our favorite food and kitchen items around a central theme. This week we’re getting into the spring of things with floral food and drink to celebrate the vernal equinox. It’s still a little early for baby vegetables and tender spring produce in most parts of the country (we’ve got winter greens to tide us over until then)—but buds are starting to emerge, and some flowers are already blooming. So we got inspired to share our favorite floral teas and a blossoming honey; fragrant, warm drinks for lingering chilly weather, and the flavors of a new, sweeter season.
As food writers, editors, producers, and social media managers, we’re constantly scouring the market for the latest and greatest products. And when we find a product we love, we want to shout it from the rooftops! We’re packaging up our weekly finds and sharing them with you, because we think you’ll love them too. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @Chowhound to catch us talking about our favorite products every week.
Guillermo Riveros, Senior Video Producer
Product: TeaBloom Tea Flowers
TeaBloom/Amazon
Nothing screams SPRING more than flowering teas! This collection of 12 unique flowers by Tea Bloom is amazing. They’re gorgeous and smell delicious. All the blossoms are created with green tea leaves, so you get all the benefits, while looking at something beautiful.
You can even re-steep them once or twice, so keep your flowers, and drink tea till summer gets here!
Nathan Carpenter, Video Producer
Product: Tazo Decaf Lotus Blossom Green Tea
Tazo/Amazon
Tea is objectively great, and Tazo never disappoints. For spring, I’ve been drinking the Decaf Lotus Blossom Green. It’s got fresh floral notes of lotus flower essence, and the fact that it’s decaf means you can drink it any time of day or night and chill out.
Jen Wheeler, Associate Editor
Product: Tea Forté Jardin and Lotus Collections
Tea Forté
I’m a habitual coffee drinker, but still appreciate a good cup of tea, and these Tea Forté selections are fantastic in every way—the packaging is gorgeous, the fragrant flavors (like Orange Jasmine, Lemon Lavender, and Vanilla Pear, a particular favorite) are delightful, and each pyramid-shaped infuser is topped off with a little green leaf, which is super adorable. Their Jardin collection, inspired by the New York Botanical Garden, will be available for purchase starting April 15—just in time for Mother’s Day—and I’m already obsessed with it (that artwork! chocolate-rose tea!), but in the meanwhile, the Lotus collection is equally lovely and high-tea-worthy. Plus, you can buy it in several formats (from single flavor loose leaf canisters to super-fancy gift boxes and even lotus-patterned accessories).
Lauren Zaser, Social Media Manager
Product: TruBee Honey
TruBee
When I think of flowers I always think of bees and their honey. These honeys from TruBee in Tennessee are so flavorful! They have two different floral flavors, Tennessee Spring and Wildflower Summer. Depending on the time of year the bees pollinate different flowers, so the honey tastes different. They make their honey using “free-range” bees, meaning they can fly wherever they want and get their nectar from wildflowers and native plants.
All featured products are curated independently by our editors. When you buy something through our retail links, we may receive a commission. For more great hand-picked products, check out the Chowhound Shop.
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World Water Day Products That Give Back
For many of us, water is easy to take for granted—but as World Water Day on March 22 aims to remind everyone, millions of people around the world do not have reliable access to safe water, and as we’ve seen (most recently and publicly with the Flint Water Crisis), it’s not a given everywhere in the U.S. either. The solutions to the global crisis may not be simple, but one thing you can easily do is donate, either directly, or by purchasing from a company that contributes part of their profits to safe drinking water organizations. We’ve rounded up some fetching products that benefit Water.org in particular—but check out other water-oriented organizations like Charity: Water too and chip in a few bucks if you can.
Memobottle A5, $36 on Amazon
Memobottle/Amazon
Getting yourself a reusable water bottle is a great way to be more environmentally friendly—and to make sure you stay hydrated, which is pretty important. Luckily, there are so many styles out there, you’re bound to find the perfect one for you. The Memobottle happens to be flat, making it easy to slide into your overstuffed backpack, briefcase, or tote. It comes in a few sizes (the A5 being the largest; others are more like pocket flasks) and you can also get vegan leather sleeves and lanyards to accessorize them if you like. The company provides two months of clean water to one person for every bottle sold.Buy Now
d.stil Reusable Easy-Infuse Water Bottle, $9.99 on Amazon
d.stil/Amazon
This is a nice basic option in a more conventional shape; it’s also pretty cheap, available in several colors, and suitable for making infusions thanks to the wide mouth. The company donates one percent of profits to Water.org, and promises a lifetime warranty for their products, so what’s not to love?Buy Now
Drinkfinity Four Flavor Variety Pack with Bottle, $35 on Amazon
Drinkfinity/Amazon
If you just can’t give up your smart water but really want to reduce the amount of packaging you’re tossing away, Drinkfinity could be a good alternative for you. The reusable bottle is designed to work with their pods, which contain mixtures of dry and liquid ingredients (think natural fruit juices, vitamins, powdered spirulina, powdered dry extracts, and even chia seeds, of course) that flavor your water and boost its health benefits, without adding much sugar—and never any artificial sweeteners or flavors. The pods do contain plastic, but up to 65 percent less than a traditional single-use bottle, so it’s still a step in the right direction. And while they normally donate 1 percent of each transaction to Water.org, on World Water Day, they’ll increase that to $1.Buy Now
BOTA Backpacks, $59.40-$99 at Bota.com
BOTA
Hydration backpacks—the kind you might use while camping—aren’t usually super-stylish, but these marry form and function for sure. They come in several styles fit for festivals, beach-going, high-fashion hiking, or just walking around town. Each one comes with a 1.5-liter hydration pack that slips into the outer bag to hold your water (or whatever else you want to put in there) for hands-free sipping. Just like reusable water bottles, they cut down on plastic that goes into landfills. And they donate over three and a half years of water every time you post a photo of yourself wearing their merch with the hashtag #letsbota. Great excuse to take another selfie, huh?Buy Now
astrea ONE Filtering Water Bottle, $44.99 on Amazon
astrea/Amazon
This sleek bottle by astrea has the added benefit of a filter that removes lead and other heavy metals that may be present so you get bottled water quality from any tap. The pop-up lid means you don’t have to unscrew the whole thing just to refill it, which is a nice plus. Even if you don’t have concerns about the health of the tap water in your town (which really should be the case for everyone), this will still make it taste its best.Buy Now
OKO H2O Level-2 Advanced Filtration Water Bottle, $27.99 on Amazon
OKO/Amazon
OKO H2O is a more travel-oriented option (in case you couldn’t tell from the carabiner clip) that boasts “NASA nano-technology as used in the ISS”—some serious filtration, in other words. Good for backpacking, whether locally or internationally, and for adding to your emergency preparedness kit (you do have one of those, right?). They donate 50 cents to Water.org for each bottle sold.Buy Now
blk. Spring Water Infused with Fulvic Acid, 12 bottles for $24.97 on Amazon
blk. water/Twitter
Whether you’re intrigued by the touted health benefits of fulvic acid or just thrilled that there’s finally a goth-friendly water on the market, this naturally black spring water is worth a try for the novelty value alone. They also donate to Water.org, which is a clear bonus.Buy Now
Tea People Loose Leaf Tea (prices vary) at Tea People
Tea People
You can’t make tea without water, and Tea People takes every part of the process seriously, from sourcing their tea leaves to brewing them just right. When you buy their tea to steep at home, a portion of the profits will be donated to Water.org.Buy Now
KaffeeBox Nordic Roast Coffee Subscription, $16.50/bag and up
Shutterstock
If you’re more of a coffee person, KaffeeBox is a great coffee subscription option. The quality of the beans is top-notch, and every bag of beans that’s sold “provides three months of clean water to a person in a developing country.”Buy Now
Lanna Coffee Co. Clean Water Blend, $15/bag
Lanna Coffee Co.
Lanna Coffee Co. works with farmers in Northern Thailand to source single-origin, pesticide-free coffee, and part of their proceeds go toward providing clean water, healthcare, and agricultural opportunities to villages throughout Thailand. But buy their Clean Water Blend in particular and $4 goes to Water.org.Buy Now
Stella Artois Better World 2019 Limited Edition Mexico, Peru, and Tanzania Chalice Gift Set, 3 for $33 on Amazon
Stella Artois/Amazon
Moving on to stronger stuff, beer—like life itself—would be nothing without water. Stella Artois debuted three limited-edition chalices and will donate $3.13 from each sale, which equates to five years of clean water for someone in the developing world. You can buy the full set or purchase the chalices individually. If you’re good on glasses, you can simply head to Twitter and give them a re-tweet to donate one year’s worth of water. (Or hit up Instagram today and use the hashtag #PourItForward.)Buy Now
BROO Craft Beer Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner Citrus Creme, $15.20 on Amazon
BROO/Amazon
If drinking beer isn’t enough, you can even lather up with craft beer shampoo and conditioner—BROO promises to “nourish, repair, protect and soothe hair” with malted barley and hops flowers. Additional bonuses: they’re cruelty-free and vegan; they support clean water and hygiene initiatives worldwide; and you can finally truly say you’re a hop head!Buy Now
Giving back is certainly a worthwhile effort and something we should all try to do more of for its own sake, but it’s nice when we can get something good in the bargain too, isn’t it? At the very least, it can be the incentive we need to take action, so check out a full list of ways to support Water.org while you shop, and consider donating too—even a small amount helps do good in the world.
All featured products are curated independently by our editors. When you buy something through our retail links, we may receive a commission. For more great hand-picked products, check out the Chowhound Shop.
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