Thursday, March 12, 2009

Whit's Frozen Custard Made Fresh Daily





















I have a confession to make…there is a new love in my life. I never expected it to happen this way. But sometimes fate, karma or whatever you want to call it, steps into your life and takes over. And that is precisely what happened to me Wednesday.

I met Jacob Rapp. No, Jake is not my new love. He just handed it to me. A clear plastic dish housing the most wonderful concoction of deep purple creamy frozen raspberry chocolaty goodness that I have ever tasted in my life. In that split second when the spoon passed my lips and tipped a little slice of heaven into my mouth, I said goodbye to Graeters. I’m sorry Graeters. It was fun. But now I’ve discovered that better things await ice cream lovers in Gahanna.

Welcome to Whit’s Frozen Custard Made Fresh Daily. Wow!

Whit’s is a new addition to the Gahanna area. They’ve had a store in Granville for years, and quite a few Gahanna folks already are acquainted with them. But for many, they’ve yet to have the Whit’s experience. To them I say, “GO NOW!”

So what makes frozen custard any different from ice cream, you ask? Wikipedia defines the history of frozen custard as:

Using a process called overrun, air is blended into the mixture of ingredients until its volume increases by approximately 20%. By comparison, ice cream may have an overrun as large as 100%, meaning half of the final product is composed of air. The high percentage of butterfat and egg yolk gives frozen custard a thick, creamy texture and a smoother, softer consistency than ice cream. Frozen custard is most often served at –8°C (18°F), warmer than the –12°C (10°F) at which ice cream is served.
Another difference between frozen custard and ice cream is the way the custard is frozen. The mix enters a refrigerated tube and, as it freezes, blades scrape the product cream off the barrel walls. The now frozen custard is discharged directly into containers from which it can be served. The speed with which the product leaves the barrel minimizes the amount of air in the product but more importantly ensures that the ice crystals formed are very small.


What does this mean for you? Well let me just say this…prepare to experience a “moment”. The quality of Whit’s ingredients is top notch. The process they use to make their custard is, in my humble opinion, about as close to perfection as you can get. The resulting product really is heaven.



But wait! Frozen custard isn’t all that Whit’s does. Oh no my friends. They do coneys! And they do them well. I fancy myself somewhat of a coney connoisseur. Jake tells me that they blend sauces (one of them coming from Chicago) to come up with their own. If you like your coney sauce a smidge sweet then you are in for a treat. (Ah, food poetry.) The bun is soft, the dog is a full size hot dog, and the sauce is plentiful. Add onion, mustard and cheese to that and you are good to go. Other savory food items include quesadillas, shredded chicken sandwiches and pulled pork sandwiches. They have chili “in season”, but I forgot to ask what “in season” was…my bad.



I digress. Let’s get back to the custard. Vanilla (and I’m talking this is the essence of vanilla) and chocolate are always available, and there is a third flavor that changes weekly. Lucky for me this week is black raspberry chip. However, I suspect I’d have fallen in love with whatever flavor was offered. I’m not fickle, I’m just diverse! In addition, Whit’s has come up with some of the most wonderful concoctions to make with their custard. Whitsers are vanilla custard blended with your choice of toppings. (Think kicked up milkshake.) The sundae menu boasts a list of toppings that’ll make you weak in the knees. And then there are the “Specialties” and “Favorites” lists; including signature sundaes and treats like banana splits and strawberry shortcake, floats, malts, and on and on. Some truly creative thinking from some pretty impressive minds has gone on here.





If you don’t find something you like at Whit's, then you’re just trying to be difficult! Either that or you need to check the “Grab N’ Go” cooler. Maybe you’re looking for a Whittie (ginormous chocolate chip frozen custard sandwich), or a chocolate covered banana, or maybe a jumbo freeze pop! Oh, I know! You’re searching for that perfect custard cake! Well while you’re at it, the Grab N’ Go houses a fine selection of quarts of Whit’s additional flavors. I had the pleasure of tasting chocolate covered strawberry. Oh my…a moment.

One more noteworthy comment here: The inside of the shop is darn near spotless. I was impressed. And the young ladies I met that were working the day I visited were incredibly polite and friendly. It was a pleasure meeting them. Also important to know is that Jake is a real mentor. Now I totally am impressed. And he’s pretty cool, too:-)

So if you haven’t already, take a trip to Whit’s. They are located at 121 S Stygler Road, Gahanna, OH 43230. You can check out their website http://www.whitsgahanna.com/ to see the flavor of the week. When you go, definitely tell them you read about them on “Dishing It Up!”

And by the way, make sure you wave and say hi to me…I’ll be the one in the corner by the Grab N’ Go ...with a spoon ;-)

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