The Particular Temperature Wendy's Frostys Are Made At
There's no denying that Wendy's Frostys are an American classic. On the Wendy's menu since the brand opened its very first restaurant in the 1960's, the Frosty is a very carefully formulated dairy dessert concocted by founder Dave Thomas. According to Wendy's, the brand's chains serve approximately 300 million Frostys per year, with the 99-cent Super Value version being the most popular.
Not quite a milkshake, not quite soft-serve ice cream, not quite vanilla, not quite milk chocolate, a Frosty was designed to be "so thick you had to eat it with a spoon" and a light chocolate flavor that wouldn't "overwhelm" the flavors of Wendy's other original menu items, including burgers, fries, and chili. But beyond the special flavor and texture, other very particular specifications are required for making a Frosty, one of the most important being temperature. Keeping Frostys at a consistent temperature right up until the point of serving is key for creating exactly the texture that Thomas wanted.
It all comes down to keeping the Frosty at the right temperature
One of the most favorited aspects of a Frosty is the texture. You can't quite slurp it through a straw, but it's not so thick that you can't dip your piping hot french fries right into that chocolatey goodness. That texture is achieved by keeping Frostys at a very particular temperature: 19 to 21 degrees Fahrenheit (via Wendy's). This 2-degree range is crucial for keeping the Frosty cold enough to remain thick, but not so cold that it hardens. The Frosty mix is kept at this temperature in stores and won't heat up beyond this until it's prepared and the final Frosty reaches your waiting hands.
Think that this strict attention to detail is a little overkill? When you take a look at just how big a difference the temperature is between a Frosty and normal ice cream, as well as the melting point of ice cream, you can see what a fine balance the Wendy's team struck when formulating the Frosty recipe. The Frosty is kept well above the recommended temperature for ice cream (0 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, per the International Dairy Foods Association), but still far below the melting point of ice cream, which is 31 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the University of California Santa Barbara via Reference. The Frosty sits right between the two — a perfect middle ground.