Eating ice cream shouldn’t just be about popularity, but rather about the quality of ingredients, recipes, and taste. A recent list released by the food and restaurant guide website Chowhound revealed that while McDonald’s ice cream is popular among consumers, it did not make the cut for high-quality fast food ice cream. Instead, eight other chain stores surpassed McDonald’s in terms of ingredients and quality.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates that real ice cream must contain no less than 10% milkfat per serving. The FDA also requires that the overrun of real ice cream should not exceed 100% (overrun refers to the proportion of air content relative to weight in the product).
These two standards ensure the quality and consistency of ice cream, providing products labeled as “real ice cream” with a rich and creamy texture.
Jane Godiner, a former judge at the James Beard Foundation, mentioned that many fast-food chain brands like Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s, and Dairy Queen sell products that are not real ice cream but rather “frozen dairy dessert.” Although frozen dairy desserts are equally sweet and smooth, they still differ from real ice cream in terms of food standards.
The ice cream from the following eight fast-food stores not only has a richer taste but also excels in ingredients and quality.
Aside from hamburgers, Smashburger’s milkshakes made from top-notch ice cream are also noteworthy.
Smashburger offers milkshakes in four flavors: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and OREO, all made with Häagen-Dazs ice cream as the base. The brand’s ice cream is classified as “Super Premium” by the International Dairy Foods Association.
Compared to regular premium ice cream, Super Premium ice cream has higher milkfat content, lower overrun, and is made with higher-quality ingredients. Häagen-Dazs uses a simple recipe, mainly consisting of heavy cream, milk, eggs, and sugar.
In-N-Out Burger’s milkshakes insist on using real ice cream, primarily made from pasteurized milk, heavy cream, and sugar, with the addition of corn syrup and concentrated skim milk, creating a rich texture. The brand’s website states, “This is the only way we make our milkshakes.”
Godiner mentioned that In-N-Out’s milkshakes continue the traditional American old-school burger joint method of preparation. The flavor choices are simple, offering chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. The vanilla milkshake has the simplest recipe, while the chocolate and strawberry flavors include added syrup for flavor.
This relatively small fast-food and retail hybrid chain brand is known for selling “Premium ice cream.” According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) regulations, Premium ice cream must have higher milkfat content and lower overrun than regular ice cream.
Braum’s has strict requirements for dairy sourcing and supply processes, owning its dairy farm where the milk is squeezed and delivered to local stores in as fast as 36 hours. The farm produces A2 milk, which is described as “naturally sweet,” and is made using traditional slow-churn methods, with flavors including: German chocolate, Bordeaux cherry almond, and birthday cake.
Founded in 1934, Steak’n Shake is known for making milkshakes with high-quality ice cream. In addition to its signature steakburgers and fries, its milkshake offerings are top-notch, providing over 19 flavors ranging from fruit flavors, chocolate desserts, to cookie cake varieties.
Steak n’ Shake’s milkshakes made it to the headlines in 2022, being selected by “Taste of Home” as one of the “best fast food milkshakes.”
This prominent American burger chain’s ice cream treats, including ice cream scoops, soda floats, and hand-spun milkshakes, are all made with frozen custard containing egg yolks. Shake Shack’s custard has a milkfat content of 10%, with 1.4% egg yolk solids, and is also made with milk, heavy cream, and sweeteners, produced with a low overrun.
Each Shake Shack store daily makes chocolate and vanilla frozen custards on-site, offering ice cream in flavors such as chocolate, strawberry, coffee, OREO milkshakes, root beer and orange sodas, as well as periodically introducing seasonal limited flavors like Dubai chocolate pistachio milkshake and key lime pie milkshake.
Culver’s, founded in Wisconsin, USA, is a 40-year-old chain brand known for selling “frozen custard,” a special type of ice cream. Besides meeting the standards of at least 10% milkfat and maximum 100% overrun like ice cream, it adds egg yolks, making the texture creamier and smoother.
The report highlights that Culver’s frozen custard is made daily in small batches, with fresh farm dairy products and a simple recipe. The main ingredients are pasteurized milk, heavy cream, skim milk, and sugar, along with corn syrup and pasteurized egg yolks.
This dessert offers classic vanilla and chocolate flavors, allowing consumers to choose from simple ice cream scoops, milkshakes, sundaes, soda floats, or mixed ice cream treats with various toppings. Culver’s also introduces daily limited flavors such as Double Strawberry, Caramel Pecan, and Crazy for Cookie Dough.
With over 500 locations nationwide, Freddy’s is renowned for its diverse range of frozen custards. The founders, inspired by a local frozen custard store, aimed to share this dessert with a wider audience.
The chain’s ice cream bases come in vanilla or chocolate flavors, extending to a variety of dessert options. Apart from sundaes, milkshakes, and mixed ice cream treats, the menu includes Frosts drinks, chocolate or OREO cookie sandwiches, classic cones, and root beer floats.
BurgerFi, the smallest fast-food chain brand on the list with around 60 locations in 13 states, doesn’t compromise on the quality of its ice cream compared to larger chain brands.
Their flagship Custard Shakes, made with rich frozen custard, contain whole milk, heavy cream, sweeteners, egg yolks, and a small amount of salt. The signature custard milkshakes come in multiple flavors including vanilla, chocolate, OREO, and the unusual strawberry custard flavor.
This article references the report from the food and restaurant guide website Chowhound.