CNN
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I went to ice cream school. Yeah, that’s a thing.
This past January, I spent a week at Penn State University waking up with the cows (literally), learning about emulsifiers and freezing techniques, and experimenting in the lab to see milk, cream, and sugar combine to form the most wonderful treat of all: ice cream.
Technically, this course is called the “Ice Cream Short Course” and it is offered one week a year at Penn State University. Some people just call it “Ice Cream College.”
“Our target audience is people who love ice cream,” says Dr. Bob Roberts, Ph.D., chair of Penn State’s Department of Food Science.
This is where ice cream makers come to learn about ice cream. Some companies, like Tillamook, send people here every year. Employees from Hudsonville, Turkey Hill, Perry’s, Stewart’s Shops, Hershey, Friendly’s, Graeter’s, Jeni’s, Baskin Robbins and more were all there this year. Even Ben and Jerry’s (yes, THE Ben and Jerry) have already taken a version of the course.
Well, that’s definitely not me.
Yes, I have a passion for ice cream. My first job was working at a small ice cream stand and now I am the person who drives miles to find the local ice cream shop. But I am not a professional. I make ice cream at home with my countertop Cuisinart, testing recipes and flavors. I just wanted to learn more, so I found my way to Penn State.
Amanda Hobor/CNN
Ice cream confections made in a lab at the Penn State Ice Cream Short Course in January.
I knew the class would be serious, but I’m not going to lie, I still thought I’d be eating ice cream every day.
I did not do it.
I thought I was going to make ice cream.
I did not do it.
But the Penn State Short Course turned my passion into a real appreciation, because now I understand why one tub of ice cream can cost $10 and another $5.
I quickly learned that Ice University was just that: university. There was homework, extra tutoring (I went all out), studying (aka cramming), an exam, class rankings (to my relief, only the top 10 were revealed), a graduation banquet, and a certificate (uh, is that graduation?).
And I wasn’t the only one who was an amateur. About a third of the students said they had little to no experience or were budding entrepreneurs. One couple was even taking the class as part of their honeymoon!
But what is ice cream school? In a word: science.
Amanda Hobor/CNN
New ice cream innovations are created during a freezing class taught by ice cream equipment specialists Evan Waldt (center), Penn State Ph.D. professor and director of food science Dr. Bob Roberts (left) and Penn State director of dairy processing Terry Grove (right).
Ross Cohen, CEO and co-owner of Sweet Cow, a Colorado ice cream company, said it’s important to understand the science behind ice cream.
“The most important thing I learned was to better understand our ice cream mix – that is, the milk, cream, sugar and all the goodness that makes up the base of every ice cream we make – and to better understand how the ingredients interact with each other.”
To understand ice cream mixing, you need to know what’s happening at the molecular level. For example, how milk proteins interact with fat and what happens when you change an ingredient. This involved courses on milk composition, dairy ingredients, food microbiology and the physics of ice cream.
“Everything is easy when things work,” Dr. Bob told me. “When things don’t work…you have to understand science. You have to understand chemistry. You have to understand engineering.”
Once you understand that, he said, you can figure out how to tweak those ingredients (think: almond milk instead of cow’s milk) and still get a product that looks, feels and tastes like ice cream.
This product was presented in one of our laboratories, during a sensory evaluation course. We were presented with 14 samples of vanilla ice cream.
Amanda Hobor/CNN
Ice cream samples in a sensory evaluation course.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking… a tasting class sounds great! Yes, it was. But I can assure you that eating that much ice cream in one sitting takes some timing and strategy.
And again, it’s a question of science.
We tasted 14 ways to make vanilla, and each one tasted different. Some were dense and slow-melting (higher milk fat content). Some had a flavor similar to dulce de leche (longer cooking time). Others were light (higher air content). The idea? Not all ice cream is created equal, and understanding the ingredients is important for your final product.
The Penn State Ice Cream Short Course has a 132-year history.
The school describes itself as “cow to cone,” meaning students can see cows being milked, then watch the milk being transformed into ice cream and eventually sold at the famous Berkey Creamery, all on campus.
The passion behind baking treats is reflected in Penn State’s numbers.
A few years ago, it took months for the course to fill up. Today, it takes only days or even hours, depending on the year. Dr. Bob recalls a recent year when demand was so high that Penn State’s enrollment system collapsed.
Amanda Hobor/CNN
The dairy barn on Penn State’s campus houses a herd of about 200 cows.
Amanda Hobor/CNN
Cows being milked at Penn State for ice cream, milk, butter and cheese production.
Courtesy of Penn State
Berkey Creamery, where Penn State sells its ice cream and other dairy products to the public.
The people who run this course, Cohen said, “are true ambassadors for the industry. They open their doors to anyone who wants a real glimpse into what they do.”
“They seek to share every bit of knowledge to help people get better,” he said.
For professionals, said Ruben Urrutia, a 30-year veteran of the ice cream industry who is now operations manager at the Tillamook plant, the course is “just another notch on our belt to make us a little bit stronger in our area of expertise.” He compared it to NFL players reviewing film of their games.
For enthusiasts, the journey lifts the veil on something that, for many, is simply a vehicle for joy and community, but is much more complex in its creation.
No matter their background – ice cream fan or expert – there is one thing everyone seems to agree on. The biggest benefit of the course is meeting people and building a network during the course. Students have an idea of what the course will cover, but they don’t know exactly what it entails, so there is a natural feeling that we are in this together.
Dr. Bob said his job “is to make the canvas that (students) can paint on.”
“I hope they leave with a good network of contacts in the ice industry so that when they have a question, they know who to call to get an answer,” he said.
I know I did. I left Penn State with my own community of ice cream makers cheering me on as I worked my little countertop machine.
Amanda Hobor/CNN
Amanda Hobor makes strawberry sorbet at home.
