Inside the school that teaches big name brands how to make ice cream

The Penn State Ice Cream Short Course has a 132-year history. The school describes itself as ‘cow to cone’

I went to ice cream college. Yep, it’s a thing. This past January, I spent one week at Penn State University waking up with the cows (literally), learning about emulsifiers and freezing techniques, and experimenting in a lab to see milk, cream and sugar come together to form the most wonderful of treats: ice cream. Technically, it’s called the “Ice Cream Short Course,” and it’s offered one week every year at Penn State University. Some people simply refer to it as “ice cream college.” “Our target audience is people who are serious about ice cream,” says Dr. Bob Roberts, Ph.D., the head of the food science department at Penn State. This is the place where the ice cream people go to learn about ice cream. Some companies, like Tillamook, send people every year. Employees from Hudsonville, Turkey Hill, Perry’s, Stewart’s Shops, Hershey, Friendly’s, Graeter’s, Jeni’s, Baskin Robbins and more all attended this year. Even Ben and Jerry (yes, the Ben and Jerry) once took a version of the class. Well, that’s definitely not me.