White Castle Milkshakes - possible demographic "fattening"

HorseFly

A friend just pointed out to me that White Castle's milkshakes vary GREATLY in Calories depending on what region the restaurant is in. I find this extremely concerning b/c I live in Louisville and they have almost DOUBLE the calories than some of the other regions. 9g of fat in Chicago, 48g in Louisville? 154 g sugar in Chicago, 211g in Louisville? That's almost 15 tsps more of sugar.

I realize that none of us on here probably would ever order a large chocolate milkshake, but it is the principle to me. A milkshake at White Castle should not vary that greatly from region to region. It makes me think that are preying on notoriously "fat" regions of the country.

I sent them a comment on their website asking that they explain this to me. We'll see if they reply.

Sunsh1ne

Wow, that is very worrisome. I'm interested to hear their response, please keep us posted!

gurgi22

It could be due to regional taste differences. Many companies will change recipies to go along with the norms of different regions; adding more flavor, spice, sugar, or even greatly different items in different regions. I used to work at McDonald's in high school and there are products that they sell in Texas that they do not sell anywhere else.

HorseFly

This is the response I received:

"In answer to your immediate question, milkshake mixes are sourced from local dairies and as this item was added to our menus on a Region by Region base, White Castle has never developed a single milkshake flavor and texture specification and as such local tastes have been allowed to dictate the style, thickness, nutrition profile, etc of our milkshakes."


I guess that means I should be hunting down someone at the local White Castle office branch for an answer. It is odd to me to have a chain that has no standard recipe for an item. While I like that they support local suppliers, it seems like there should be some restrictions on how much fat and sugar one region can pour into a milkshake to keep it at least close to the other regions in nutritional profile.

lwebsmfp

Pretty interesting. Makes you wonder about every other place when you eat out.