Public Invited to UMass Food Science Students’ 10th Annual Ice Cream Flavors Competition
UMass Amherst food science students Ethan Walton and Tori Cercone display a flavor concoction for the base of their ice cream. Photo: umass.edu
Source: UMass News and Media
The public is invited to join UMass students for tasting and judging of the 10th annual UMass Amherst Food Science–Herrell’s Ice Cream & Bakery Ice Cream Product Development Competition. The event will be held on Tuesday May 7 from 3-5 p.m in Room 125 Furcolo Hall, 813 North Pleasant Street on the UMass Campus. The event is free and open to the media and ice cream aficionados
Four teams of UMass Amherst food science students, busy in the lab putting the finishing touches on . their flavorful frozen creations, will compete. The first 100 people to arrive at the contest will be invited to taste every flavor and vote for the People’s Choice Award, says Charmaine Koo, this year’s instructor of the food processing lab.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Food Science Department is partnering with Judy Herrell, president and CEO of Herrell’s Ice Cream & Bakery, who mentored the class throughout the semester. She and two of Herrell’s management staff members will judge the entries based on texture, overrun, sustainability, olfactory and taste.
“This year’s teams have come up with unique and exciting ice cream ideas. Some I don’t think have ever been tried before,” Herrell says. The capstone project provides senior food science majors with the perfect platform for integrating food science principles–from microbiology, chemistry and processing to shelf stability, marketing analysis and nutrition–as they prepare to enter the field.
Throughout the year after the contest, Herrell produces and promotes some or all of the students’ ice cream flavors at her popular ice cream shop in downtown Northampton. Last year’s winner was Tea House Blossom–an oolong tea and peach-flavored ice cream with rosemary extract, which edged out second-place Maize Craze–featuring vegan corn bread chunks and a hot honey swirl with a jalapeño, poblano and habanero pepper flavor.
More information, contact: Charmaine Koo, ckoo@umass.edu or Patty Shillington, pshillington@umass.edu