by Erin Anderson

The new president of Purdue wanted to make his mark at the university. This meant President Mung Chiang wanted to celebrate his love of ice cream with a new flavor created by students to represent the unique history of Purdue’s College of Agriculture.

Allison Kingrey, managing director of the Food Entrepreneurship Manufacturing Institute, says students jumped at the chance. FEMI senior Alexandra Neikirk says it was a group effort from beginning collaboration to the production stage.

“I have never done a research development project or seen the products on the shelf. It was cool to have the idea on paper and see it at football games,” Neikirk says.

Purdue began creating its own production formula for ice cream on campus from the early 1910s to 2020, when Pappy’s Sweet Shop closed in the Purdue Memorial Union. Glover’s Ice Cream, a local creamery in Frankfort, Ind., partnered with the university to co-manufacture ice cream flavors with Pappy’s original vanilla ice cream base.

“This was an interesting project in that the president was adamant students get to determine the ice cream for the university,” Kingrey says. “Our team had eight FEMI summer students tasked to lift this project. They listed lots of different options for ice cream flavors and then presented that to the president. He and his team narrowed that down to flavors that they wanted students to generate for additional tasting.”

Only two flavors made the final cut. Chiang selected his favorites to move onto the final round of taste testing by the 2023 Boiler Gold Rush participants. These are freshmen who come to campus early to get acclimated. Over 450 Boiler Gold Rush students participated. Boiler Chips was the winner. It is a caramel ice cream with chocolate chips.

Although most flavors created by FEMI students did not make the cut, hope is still on the horizon for more partnerships with Glover’s Ice Cream.

Big debut

On Sept. 16, Boiler Chips and One Giant Scoop, also known as Pappy’s Original Vanilla, made their successful debut in Ross-Ade Stadium for the Purdue football team’s home opener.

“I think it’s a really easy story to talk about,” Kingrey says. “Everyone loves ice cream, and the timing was just right for football season. It’s nice that students and the department are getting attention and using this as a product to put us on the map.”

TASTE TEST: Purdue food science students working on the ice cream project take time to taste their product during the cooking process. (Tom Campbell)

The creation of this university-made product is unique. It is not just for students. Guests, alumni and all others can celebrate this achievement by purchasing this product at football games and the Butcher Block, located in the Purdue Animal Sciences Building.

“It’s really cool, because it’s something that everybody can try,” Neikirk says. “It’s really exciting to see it on the shelf because that was our idea, and that will most likely have an imprint on Purdue history.”

The creation of this student-led initiative represents the essence of tradition, innovation and community as the perfect homage to Purdue University. It symbolizes the spirit of Purdue: a place where creativity knows no bounds, and where the pursuit of excellence extends to creating ice cream.

Anderson is a senior in agricultural communication at Purdue University.