Issue Date: May 31, 2005

Graduate students and staff member Linda Gavin (third from right) enjoy the fruits of their labor – chocolate raspberry, blueberry cheesecake, chocolate cherry cheesecake and other loaded ice cream flavors. As part of the course “Food Product Development,” these and other food science graduate students made ice cream flavors for each undergraduate college at Rutgers in New Brunswick/Piscataway. Vice President of Student Affairs Gregory Blimling suggested the project, noting that other universities had developed signature ice cream flavors. The students chose the flavors by looking for feedback from the governing associations of Rutgers, Cook, Livingston, Douglass and University colleges. Some were designed with the schools’ colors in mind – like Livingston’s “Funky Blue L,” the blueberry cheesecake flavor. Others took into account the characteristics of the student body. “We chose coffee rocky road for University College because the students are more mature, we thought they would like that,” said graduate student Yunhong Rong. Gavin, the operations manager for the Food Manufacturing Technology facility in Piscataway, oversaw the students’ work. Douglass College is represented by chocolate cherry cheesecake, Rutgers College by chocolate raspberry swirl, and Cook College by mint chocolate chip “COOK”ie dough with tiny chocolate cows. Kwality Foods, a local ice cream manufacturing business operated by a Cook College alumnus, will produce the confection, which should be available in all dining halls this fall.

This article was published in the May 31, 2005 edition of the Rutgers Focus and is available online at http://urwebsrv.rutgers.edu/focus/article/link/1603/