How ice cream is made: Learn the science behind the flavors brands like Baskin Robbins and Tillamook make

CNN
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I went to college for ice cream. Yes, there is.

This January, I spent a week at Penn State, waking up with the cows (literally), learning about emulsifiers and refrigeration techniques, and conducting lab experiments to see how milk, cream, and sugar combine to create that greatest treat of all: ice cream.

Technically known as the “Ice Cream Short Course,” the course is held for one week each year at Pennsylvania State University. Some people simply call it the “Ice Cream College.”

“Our target customer is someone who is serious about ice cream,” says Dr. Bob Roberts, chair of the food science department at Pennsylvania State University.

This is where ice cream people learn about ice cream. Companies like Tillamook send people every year. This year employees from Hudsonville, Turkey Hill, Perry's, Stewart's Shop, Hershey's, Friendly's, Graeter's, Jeni's, Baskin Robbins and more all participated. Ben & Jerry's (yes, of Ben and Jerry once took this class.

Well, that's definitely not me.

Yes, I love ice cream. My first job was working at a small ice cream stand, and now I'm someone who travels miles around to find a local homemade ice cream shop. I'm no professional though. I make ice cream at home on my countertop in a Cuisinart, experimenting with recipes and flavors. I wanted to learn more, which is what led me to Penn State.

I knew the course would be hard, but to be honest, I thought I would be eating ice cream every day.

I did not do it.

I thought I'd make ice cream.

I did not do it.

But a crash course at Penn State transformed my passion into true appreciation, because now I understand why one pint of ice cream costs $10 and another $5.

I quickly learned that ice cream college was just that: college: there was homework, remedial classes (which I absolutely went to), studying (i.e. cramming), exams, class rankings (to my relief, only the top ten were announced), and a closing banquet and certificates (wait, is this a graduation ceremony?).

I wasn't the only amateur: About a third of the class had little experience or said they were aspiring entrepreneurs. One couple was taking the course as part of their honeymoon.

But what exactly was Ice Cream College? In a word: science.

Ross Cohen, CEO and co-owner of Colorado ice cream company Sweet Cow, said understanding the science behind ice cream is important.

“The most important thing I learned was to get a deeper understanding of our ice cream mix – the milk, cream, sugar and all the good stuff that is the base of every ice cream we make – and a deeper understanding of how the ingredients work together.”

Understanding ice cream formulation means learning what's going on at a molecular level — for example, how milk proteins interact with fats, what happens when you change the ingredients, etc. That means taking classes on milk composition, dairy ingredients, food microbiology, and the physics of ice cream.

“When things are going well, everything is easy,” Dr. Bob told me. “When things are going badly…you need to understand the science. You need to understand the chemistry. You need to understand the engineering.”

With that understanding, he says, it's possible to vary the ingredients (such as using almond milk instead of cow's milk) and still create a product that looks, feels and tastes like ice cream.

This was on display in one of our laboratories, a sensory evaluation class. We were given 14 samples of vanilla ice cream.

Ok, I know what you're all thinking…a tasting class sounds awesome! Yep, it was awesome. But I can assure you that eating that much ice cream in one sitting takes pacing and strategy.

Again, this is about science.

We sampled 14 different ways to make vanilla, and each one tasted different. Some were thick and slow to melt (higher milk fat), some tasted more like dulce de leche (longer cooking time), and some were lighter (more air). What does that mean? Not all ice cream is created equal, and understanding your ingredients is important to the final product.

The Penn State Ice Cream Short Course is 132 years old.

The school touts its “cow to corn” philosophy, meaning students can watch cows being milked and then see how that milk is turned into ice cream and ultimately sold at the famous Berkey Creamery, all right on campus.

The passion for baking is reflected in Penn State's numbers.

A few years ago, it would take months to fill up this course. Now, depending on the year, it takes a matter of days or even hours. Dr. Bob recalled one recent year when demand was so high that Penn State's registration system crashed.

Cohen said the course organisers were “true ambassadors for the industry” – they were “opening their doors to give anyone a real inside look at what they do”.

“They want to share all their knowledge to help people get better,” he said.

For the pros, the course is “just another step to make us a little bit stronger in our field,” said Ruben Urrutia, a 30-year veteran of the ice cream industry who is now operations manager at the Tillamook plant. Mr. Urrutia likened it to NFL players reviewing game film.

For amateurs, the course peels back the curtain on what for many is simply a means of pleasure and community but is far more complicated to create.

Whatever your background, whether you're an ice cream dreamer or an expert, there's one thing we all seem to agree on: the best part of this course is networking with the people you meet in class. Students have some idea of ​​what the course content is about, but don't fully understand it. So right away, there's a natural feeling of “we're in it together.”

Dr. Bob said his job is to “create a canvas for (the students) to paint on.”

“I want them to go home with a good ice cream network so that when they have a question they know who to call and get an answer,” he said.

For me, yes. I graduated from Pennsylvania State University and built my own ice cream community that supports me as I continue to make ice cream with my little countertop machine.