![]() Vanilla samples from thirteen stands were scored on appearance, texture, flavor, aroma, sweetness and body. Differing news accounts pegged attendance between 500 and 2,000 folks who turned out for the black-tie affair, dubbed Custard’s Best Stand. The question of whose custard was superior was aired in August 1981, when a blind taste test was conducted at the Hyatt Regency–Milwaukee hotel. The only other food that engenders such passions among locals is the Friday night fish fry. That said, we’re all happy to explore different custard stands, if only to reinforce our existing preference. Nearly everyone has his or her favorite frozen custard stand and will defend its superiority with vigor. Reprinted from Milwaukee Frozen Custard by Kathleen McCann and Robert Tanzilo (The History Press, 2016). But that’s where the agreement ends.Ĭultural icons in their communities, frozen custard stands have always attracted celebrities, like actor Frankie Avalon, seen here at Kohr’s. Even those who grew up eating other frozen desserts-there were plenty of A&Ws and Dairy Queens serving ice cream and soft-serve in the area-can readily agree that custard just tastes better, even if they’re unsure as to why. When you eat it, the superiority of frozen custard is immediately clear. Frozen custard looks much like ice cream to the uninitiated, but it is denser and creamier thanks to the inclusion of egg yolks. ![]() But in Milwaukee, past and present, custard is serious happiness. Whether or not your average New Yorker at that time would have agreed is unclear. The attendees included frozen custard among four things that “best to contribute to the world’s happiness.” (The other three were bumper cars, carousels and roller coasters.). Serious Businessįrozen custard makes people happy-at least, that’s what America’s amusement park proprietors who met for an informal convention in New York opined in 1932, according to a United Press International article. And while beer-drinking culture is reserved for adults, Milwaukeeans of all ages indulge in the passion for custard. And often they conjure deeper memories and stronger opinions than their beer-brewing counterparts. Here, names like Leon, Gilles, Kopp and Culver are as well known as Miller, Best, Blatz, Pabst and Schlitz. M ilwaukee is known as Brew City thanks to its once prominent beer brewing tradition, but the city has another claim to fame: frozen custard capital of the world. Gilles Frozen Custard carhops, circa 1940, captioned on the back: “Three girls from Iowa: Helen, Bonnie & Ila.” Courtesy of Gilles Frozen Custard.
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