What is the key to a great milkshake?
The answer is simple; amazing ice cream! Every Board and Brew milkshake is made with locally-sourced, small-batch, ultra-premium ice cream, brought to you by Moorenko’s ice cream. Before we go on (and on and on…) about how much we love Moorenko’s ice cream, let’s talk ice cream FACTS.
In the world of ice cream, not all ice cream is created equal. It’s not just our opinion; it’s a standard set by the FDA. Yes, the Food and Drug Administration. That one. The FDA sets certain “standards of identity” for food products, which lay out how a product must be manufactured, what ingredients it can contain, and how much of those ingredients are used in order for that product to use a certain label or marketing term.
In order to be labeled as “ice cream”, the FDA requires that a product has a minimum of 10% dairy milkfat, has no more than 100% overrun, and weighs no less than 4.5 lbs per gallon. Overrun is the % increase in volume of ice cream greater than the amount of mix used to produce that ice cream. As in, if I take 1 gallon of ingredients to make my ice cream, then churn enough air in it to double its volume, that’s 100% overrun. The lower the overrun percentage, the more dense the product. Products that don’t meet this standard can’t call themselves ice cream, they are called “frozen dairy dessert.” Either they don’t meet the 10% milkfat requirement, or they are churned and fluffed up with so much air that they exceed the 100% overrun limit.
Now, the products that qualified for the “ice cream” label, they’re all the same then, right? Oh no no no. Let’s break down some more terms and give you some points of comparison.
Regular Ice Cream- Meets the 10% dairy milkfat percentage and does not exceed 100% overrun. This includes your regular Breyer’s ice cream.
Premium Ice Cream- Exceeds the minimum milkfat percentage at between 12-14%, and generally has a lower overrun (so you get more product, and less air per scoop). This is where you’ll find Blue Bell or Baskin-Robbins.
Superpremium Ice Cream- Now we’re talking. Milkfat percentage between 14-16% with an overrun under 50%. Superpremium ice creams use higher quality ingredients, come in smaller containers, and often have more to offer in terms of gourmet flavor combinations. Here’s where you’re going to find brands like Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s.
But wait… didn’t we say that all Board and Brew milkshakes are made with locally-sourced, small-batch, ultra-premium ice cream? Mmm mmm, that’s right folks, let’s talk overachievers. In order to qualify for ultra-premium, an ice cream must have more than 16% milkfat. Here’s where we find Moorenko’s. This is the type of ice cream that is described as dense, rich, creamy, heavenly, sumptuous, decadent, indulgent, or just urmghlghlghl.
Founded in 2002, Moorenko’s is a family business created by Susan Soorenko. This amazing ice cream is made just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from us, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Having studied ice cream [Editor’s Note: …how come no one told me this was a career option??...] under renowned ice cream experts in New York and with a master gelato maker in Italy, Susan set out to create her own ice cream at the highest possible level. Moorenko’s ice cream is made with a rich French custard base, by hand, in small batches, using high quality, delicious ingredients, with no chemical emulsifiers or stabilizers. Moorenko’s ice cream uses dairy sourced from grass-fed cows raised on small, family-owned farms in Pennsylvania, certified rBST- and antibiotic-free. Moorenko’s has been consistently rated as the best in DC by Washingtonian magazine and it’s easy to see why.
Come taste the ultra-premium difference yourself with one of our homemade milkshakes, floats, affogatos, on a brownie sundae, or on its own. Now excuse me while I conduct some taste tests… for research.
