larger version of UDairy Creamery Ice cream making process illustration Image of cow with text: For the 100-odd Holstein cows that reside at UD’s Newark dairy south of main campus, meals come mainly from the fields that surround them, and consist mostly of fermented grass and corn plants that have been cultivated by UD animal nutrition researchers with optimal milk production in mind. Even at this early stage, the hands-on learning benefits hundreds of undergraduate and graduate student researchers. Image of girl milking cow with text: Students rise before dawn to wrangle cows into the high-tech “milking parlor.” The cows know their routine well, and an electronic chip records their production totals. Up to 16 can be milked at a time, and the cows are milked three times a day, meaning daily UDairy production of about 800 gallons. Image of highpoint dairy truck with text: Delaware’s Hy-Point Dairy Farms—run by Jay Meany, ANR81—transports the fresh milk to Cumberland Farms in New Jersey, where sugar, cream and emulsifiers are added to make a pasteurized ice cream “base” before being boxed and sent back to the Creamery building, located on South College Avenue near the athletic complex. In coming months—thanks to donor support—the Creamery will get its own processing facility on campus, more than tripling its production capacity. Image of chocolate sandwich cookies with text: Students’ creative powers are frequently summoned to dream up new flavors, and almost as frequently, they come up with a concoction that evokes the tastes of their childhood. “We have a lot of grandma’s recipes,” says Creamery manager Melinda Shaw. “Students bring them in, and we make ice cream out of them, like Banana Coconut Cream Pie and Pineapple Pie.” Image of gallon of UDairy ice cream with text: Using an industrial ice cream machine, student workers at the Creamery begin the process of turning unflavored ice cream “base” into actual ice cream. In a typical week in summer, the Creamery will churn through 1,500 gallons of ice cream base—enough for 3,200 pounds of finished ice cream. Image of students mixing flavor in with text: For the 60-odd students who work at the Creamery, daily duties inevitably include the muscle-flexing chore of folding ingredients for 30-plus flavors into the thick ice cream--everything from pralines to brownie bits to wasabi powder. The mix is then immediately flash-frozen to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid ice crystal formation. In the meantime, students also make the Creamery’s signature waffle cones by hand. Some students start their Creamery jobs and get hooked, like assistant manager Jen Rodammer, ANR13, AS13. “I really fell in love with the concept of the business,” she says. “You’re employing students, and you’re literally going from cow to cone every day.” Image of Melinda Shaw and a student serving a customer with text: To avoid competition with local ice cream producers, the Creamery sells its concoctions mainly out of its store—along with blankets made from the wool of UD sheep, beef from UD cattle and honey made by UD bees. Some flavors are also available at UD dining halls, residence hall markets, the Barnes & Noble UD Bookstore on Main Street, the UD-run Courtyard Marriott Hotel and a new Wilmington storefront that opens this spring. A partnership with Iron Hill Breweries is also underway. With the fall 2017 expansion, there are plans to move beyond ice cream and produce cheese (and possibly yogurt) made with UDairy milk. “We will even be able to ship it to alumni,” Shaw says of the cheese, which, along with the other Creamery products, can be purchased at www.creamery.udel.edu, possibly in time for the 2017 holiday season. Image of the UDairy Ice Cream truck with text: The Creamery and its mobile ice cream truck, the Moo Mobile, are considered prime platforms for giving students an entrepreneurial mindset and teaching them product development. Each year, the Creamery hires several students as managers, while others learn the basics of business operations by overseeing the Moo Mobile. Many have gone on to food service careers—and in one case, opened his own dairy.
Click on the inset photos with numbers for information about each part of the process of making ice cream at UDairy Creamery.