Food Science Club develops newest Babcock ice cream flavor

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Food Science Club spent their semester planning Babcock Dairy’s newest feature flavor, Honey Badger. The Super Premium, honey-flavored ice cream features a crunchy graham cracker crumble and chocolate chips.

Students in the Food Science Club met with the goal of creating a tasty ice cream flavor with a fun reference to UW–Madison, according to Elizabeth Binversie, a senior studying Food Science and the outreach director for the Food Science Club.

Binversie said the club came up with several creative flavors and ultimately voted to produce Honey Badger.

Honey Badger is a Super Premium ice cream, meaning it uses a vegetable-based stabilizer and has a higher milk fat than the average flavor. The club found creative ways to use back-stocked ingredients, including the graham cracker crunch and chocolate chips, to reduce food waste and improve sustainability efforts within the Dairy.

Binversie and fellow Food Science student Stephen Zheng visited the Babcock Dairy Plant to view the final stages of the production process. In total, the Dairy Plant produced nearly 300 gallons of Honey Badger for sale at the Babcock Dairy store and other retail outlets around campus.

“Being able to develop a custom flavor at the Babcock Dairy Store was incredibly special to me, Binversie said. “When I first visited UW–Madison, I remember learning about the on-campus ice cream process and many iconic flavors — now being a part of it is a full circle moment for me that I am very proud of.”

Food Science students Elizabeth Binversie and Stephen Zheng look into an ice cream vat with Casey Whyte. — Food Science students Elizabeth Binversie and Stephen Zheng look into an ice cream vat containing Honey Badger with Plant Manager Casey Whyte.

The Food Science Club connects students in the food industry and allows them to network in the field. The club also partners with Babcock Dairy to produce one feature ice cream flavor every year, offering students hands-on, professional industry experience.

“This creative process used many facets of food science, combining flavor chemistry, engineering, product development and marketability,” Binversie said. “This was a great professional experience.”

Binversie encouraged students from any major to join the Food Science Club to grow their networks and support systems.