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Five student groups are finalizing their original frozen flavors as they prepare for the 11^th Annual UMass Food Science Ice Cream Product Development Competition. The free event – ice cream tasting included – is open to students, staff, the media and the public. 

The competition is scheduled for 4:30-7 p.m. May 8 at Furcolo Hall, room 125, 813 N. Pleasant St. 

“I think this year the flavors are a little more exotic,” says food science lecturer Charmaine Koo, who has been teaching the food processing lab in recent years.

The first 100 people to arrive will get to taste the ice cream flavors and vote for the People’s Choice Award. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP here.

For the sixth consecutive year, the food science department is partnering with Judy Herrell, president and CEO of Herrell’s Ice Cream & Bakery, who mentored the class throughout the semester. She and her staff will judge the entries based on texture, overrun (the amount of air in the ice cream), sustainability, smell and taste. 

Herrell reproduces the students’ ice cream flavors on a rotating basis at her popular ice cream shop in downtown Northampton. 

The capstone project provides senior food science majors with the perfect platform for integrating food science principles – from microbiology, chemistry and processing to shelf stability, marketing analysis and nutrition – as they prepare to enter the field. 

Last year’s winner was Brown Butter Miso Caramel, painstakingly created with made-from-scratch caramel and brown bits of cooked butter.