Frozen custard a Midwestern summer treat

June 29, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Custard and ice cream are cousins, really. But the big difference between the two is the amount of air whipped into them, as well as the butterfat content. At Scooter's - the city's first frozen custard shop in Lakeview - the dense product is always available in vanilla and chocolate.

"We take one gallon of liquid and make 1.2 gallons of ice cream, which is 20% overrun in the ice cream biz, and that's what makes it so dense and smooth; we also make it fresh every day," said Mardi Moore, owner of Scooter's Frozen Custard.

In Edgewater, Lickity Split Frozen Custard and Sweets is one of the most popular places to go with kids in the summertime. They always offer three flavors - vanilla and chocolate for sure, plus something creative, like a key lime. Again, it's the density that defines it.

"The only difference with frozen custard is that there's less air in the product, and there's actually egg yolk in the product, which gives it that nice, creamy, silky texture and really it's like soft serve Haagen-Dazs in a way," said owner Ken Anderson.

You can do scoops, sundaes - like the caramel-chocolate-and-walnut Turtle version - plus any number of concretes.

"And they call it a concrete because the idea is you should be able to turn the product upside down and nothing's gonna fall out," Anderson said.

And living up to its name, how about this concrete, the Peanut Butter Blowout: it's got vanilla and chocolate custard, plus peanut butter, plus Reese's peanut butter cups and Butterfinger. Need I say anything more?

Scooter's Frozen Custard
1658 W. Belmont Ave.
773-244-6415
http://scootersfrozencustard.com/

Lickity Split Frozen Custard & Sweets
6056 N. Broadway St.
773-274-0830
http://www.lickitysplitchicago.com/site/

Greg's Frozen Custard
1490 S. Lake St., Mundelein
847-837-4175

Andy's Frozen Custard
719 Church Street, Evanston
260 S. Weber Road, Bolingbrook
9507 S. Cicero Avenue, Oak Lawn

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