Flavors that never quite made it
By Sid Perkins
UPI Science News
COLUMBIA, Mo., July 28 (UPI) -- Most ice cream connoisseurs don't know
what they're missing.
But Robert Marshall knows. He has seen and tasted varieties of ice cream
that many of us could, or should, only imagine.
Marshall, a food scientist at the University of Missouri in Columbia, is
one of America's leading ice cream researchers. One of the two campus
facilities he operates is the Arbuckle Ice Cream Laboratory, where small
teams of researchers investigate practical issues such as an ice cream's
"scoopability."
But "Buck's Ice Cream Store," the other facility, is more popular. Tucked
away on the edge of campus, it looks and feels like an old-fashioned ice
cream parlor. It also serves as a "consumer testing" lab, where swarms of
students can purchase promising new concoctions.
Recently, at the special request of another faculty member, Marshall
whipped up a batch of garlic ice cream. He says, "It was pretty good at
first taste, but then you carried around this garlic aftertaste. She tried
the ice cream on 50 volunteers, and she says it was a hit. I have a little
trouble believeing that."
Marshall also tells the story of another ice cream flavor, tested
elsewhere, that quickly went by the wayside -- chili con carne. He says,
"Maybe that would sell in South Texas, but not here."
The latest ice cream trends include unusual flavors and the use of
"mix-ins" such as M&Ms. But Marshall is quick to suggest there may be
limits to good taste.
He says, "We won't do cucumber ice cream. The idea just doesn't quite
fit."
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