Custard's last fan

If the term 'frozen custard' makes you think of your grandparents, then its time to welcome dentures and wrinkles with open arms.

Combine the richness of gelato with the creaminess of frosting, and you'll be somewhere in frozen custard's ball park.

Made using most of ice cream's standard ingredients, but with a higher concentration of butterfat and/or egg yolk, custard is denser and more flavorful than most in the frozen family.

Recipes can be traced back to the 1900s, according to Wisegeek.com, but the invention of commercial custard making machines didn't happen until somewhere around the 1920s.

These 'custard machines' work their magic by folding the ingredients and air together in a process called "overrun." They work much slower than ice cream makers, adding in much less air than standard ice cream, resulting in a richer, more flavorful dessert.

Custard, be definition, also must include at least 10 percent butterfat. It used to be made with egg yolks, but that practice has decreased due to health concerns.

Some things, in my opinion, are worth salmonella poisoning.

Custard is hard to store and therefore usually made fresh daily, making it hard to find in stores. This limits most custard creaters to less than three flavors, generally chocolate, vanilla and a 'flavor of the day.'

Goodtimes fast food restaurant offers affordable frozen custard and fun weekend and seasonal flavors, including pumpkin pie and the upcoming December's eggnog.

They also have a variety of sundaes and "spoon benders" to rival any DQ Blizzard.

This gem of a drive thru also has daily custard specials. My favorite is Wednesday's New York cheesecake.

It's almost beats the real thing. Almost.

Culver's is another fast food custard option. Their flavor of the day options put 31 Flavors to shame, and the custard shakes make for a French fry-dipper from heaven.

And it's not to late to invite grandma.