Cornell food science students have spoken, and their choice for the next ice cream flavor to be showcased at the Cornell Dairy Bar will be “Slammin’ Yamz.” The culinary concoction with a vanilla ice cream base, includes yam puree, molasses, cinnamon and nutmeg, with a marshmallow swirl.
The new flavor that will be sold in the spring contains beta-carotene and fiber. The contest required that the ice cream must be relatively healthy, with less than 4 percent fat.
Students enrolled in Cornell’s Food Science 1101 continued the annual tradition of crafting an ice cream flavor. The class works in teams and conducts research on ice cream flavor names, formulas, butterfat content, proportions and potential marketing schemes, in addition to learning about commercial food processing for ice cream.
“In the course, we bring some 60 years worth of expertise to consult on ice cream development — that would cost other pilot plants from $3,000 to $6,000 a day,” said Prof. Joseph Hotchkiss, food science, according to the University. He added that the process of creating ice cream flavors is quite complex.
The flavor beat out “Carobu Trails,” an almond base ice cream with black raspberry swirl, chopped almonds and carob chips.
“The most important component for ice cream is texture; that’s one of the primary reasons you like ice cream — because of its texture,” Hotchkiss said.
Last year, a similar flavor, “Yam I Am” placed second in the competition, trailing behind “Beehive Crunch.” The runner-up was the first vegetable-based ice cream in the course’s history.