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Peter Graf says his seventh grade science project lead to
his interest in developing new ice cream flavors. Steve
Morse photo
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Tangerine
Sherbet and Caramel Apple Swirl — What's Next?
By Robert E. Thomas
A seventh grade science project where he measured
different carbonation levels in soda pops sparked Peter Graf’s
interest in food science.
“I knew I wanted to get a job doing something like that,”
he said.
Fast-forward a decade and Graf, from Perryville,
Mo., is now a graduate student in the University of Missouri Food
Science Department with a summer job of which any seventh
grader could only dream.
While helping supervisor Rick Linhardt run the daily operations
of the popular Buck’s
Ice Cream Place, he gets to develop new ice cream flavors.
Buck’s, located on campus in Eckles Hall, is a long-time
favorite with students and alumni and home of Tiger Stripe, MU's
black and gold signature ice cream.
So far Graf has come up with banana crunch, blueberry, peanut
butter cup ice cream and a tangerine sherbet. He’s still
working on a caramel apple swirl, cinnamon, and chocolate covered
cherry.
He learned about making ice cream while practicing to be a member
of the MU Dairy Judging Contest and won third place nationally
in the ice cream evaluation category.
“I tasted our ice creams and thought there have to be some
other flavors we can do,” he said.
Buck’s current counter holds 16 flavors. Graf wants to redesign
the cabinet to fit an extra eight flavors.
The top flavor is still Tiger Stripe. In a single day, Buck’s
will make 120 gallons of Tiger Stripe in quarts, half gallons
and cups for special events.
“It may sound like a lot , but you would be surprised by
how fast it goes,” he said.
“I’ve always enjoyed cooking, and making ice cream
is kind of like cooking except you’re freezing. I really
enjoy making things on a large scale. There have been days when
I have made four or five flavors in one day, and it is a lot of
fun to taste every one,” he said.
Graf gives school children tours of the ice-cream-making operation.
“Their biggest excitement is when you open the freezer door
and say this is minus forty degrees, and they all back away,”
he said.
In addition to his summer job, Graf’s master level research
project is in another dairy-related area with three food science
researchers. He is making processed cheese using an extruder and
adding probiotics, bacterial cultures to assist the body’s
naturally occurring gut flora, said his faculty adviser, Ingolf
Gruen.
“Our goal is to make a value-added processed cheese. Extrusion
allows us to make the cheese quicker and at lower temperature.
Early research suggests we can in fact produce high quality processed
cheese using extrusion, but now the question is will the microbes
survive it,” Gruen said.
Buck’s was built in 1989 as part of an endowment by Wendell
and Ruth Arbuckle after both retired from rewarding careers in
the ice cream industry.
In addition to its store, Buck’s includes a research and
teaching lab where now retired Robert Marshall was named the first
Arbuckle Professor of Ice Cream Research. He invented Tiger Stripe
ice cream.
Graf’s summer job is funded by an assistantship provided
in the on-going Arbuckle endowment. Wendell Arbuckle died in 1987.
Mrs. Arbuckle died July 6, 2007 at age 93.
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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