Lovin' spoonful: Rolling Stones team makes the tastiest ice cream in class

Three members of the winning Food Science 101 Rolling Stones team prepare cups of the ice cream for judging, Dec. 1, in Stocking Hall. They are, from left, Courtney Dougherty, Elizabeth Ashley Watkins and Meaza Solomon, all sophomores in the School of Hotel Administration. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

You can get satisfaction. At the final-project presentations for Cornell's Food Science 101 class Dec. 1, the ice cream called Rolling Stones satisfied judges' palates enough to earn a spot next semester on the campus dining hall and Cornell Dairy Bar menus, said Joseph Hotchkiss, Cornell professor of food science, who directs the class.

Since 1995, Hotchkiss has been teaching students in the class how to work together in teams to create complicated foods, like ice cream. One of the ice cream flavors created in the class in the fall of 1998, Sticky Bunz, continues to be a favorite at the Cornell Dairy Bar.

This year's class winner, Rolling Stones, is a vanilla based ice cream with a caramel and marshmallow swirl, interspersed with chunks of malt balls. Its rich taste is no surprise, since the flavor features 17 percent fat and 60 percent overrun (air), an important component in any premium ice cream. Air keeps the ice cream from tasting like butter. The team named the ice cream for its malt ball chunks, not for the British rock band.

Freshman Alex Huff, a member of the Rolling Stones team, explained that his family is in the ice cream business in Sydney, N.Y., and he consulted with his grandfather on test flavors. Together Huff and his grandfather made small batches on the weekends during the development phase. "If there is one thing my grandfather taught me, it is that you can never have too many ingredients in ice cream," Huff said.

One of the judges, Delmar Crim, senior executive chef with Cornell Dining, enjoyed the Rolling Stones flavor, particularly the marshmallow and caramel swirl. "I like my ice cream sweet," he said after the judging.

Running a close second place to Rolling Stones was the student-developed Starry Eyed Surprise, which contains chunks of white-chocolate chips in a chocolate base with a fudge swirl and Graham cracker morsels. It is 14 percent fat and 50 percent overrun. "There were a lot of things in Starry Eyed Surprise and the students zeroed in on a good combination," said Richard Anderson, general manager of Cornell Dining operations, another judge.

The third flavor presented this year was Nutty Apple Lovin', with the autumnal flavors of apples, maple, cinnamon and walnuts.

The members of the winning Rolling Stones team, besides Huff, are undergraduates: Eryn Abrams, Stephan Asprinio, Kathryn Augelli, Michael Coyle, Brian Cuccio, Hernan Donoso, Courtney Dougherty, Elaine Fan, Stacy Ann Forrester, Nicholas Grennan, Monica Hui, Kari Kacera, Robinson Ko, Xue Cheng Liu, Marlene Moskowitz, Margaret Ratner, Andrew Riesenberg, Allison Ross, Jennifer Rowe, Meaza Solomon, Elizabeth Ashley Watkins and Johnny Wong.