Cart 0 Items
Ice Cream Taster
As the “Official Taster” for Edy’s Grand Ice Cream and Nestlé Drumstick, John Harrison has dipped his golden spoon into more than 200 million gallons of America’s favorite frozen treat during his sweet career. In fact, John’s taste buds are such a cool asset that they are insured for One Million Dollars, and provide the final word on what new flavors ice cream lovers scoop up in the freezer aisle each year. John comes from a long line of ice cream enthusiasts and is responsible for developing flavors such as Cookies ‘N Cream, Peaches ‘N Cream and Peanut Butter Cup. It’s the sweetest job in America—and John is here to give you the scoop.
Click below to listen to 10 minute interview.
Resources
1. About John: www.icecream.com
2. Contact John: jdharris@dreyers.com
3. Videos about John & his career: http://dreyers.com/johnthetaster/
4. Take the ice cream quiz: http://dreyers.com/johnthetaster/quiz.asp?b=104
5. Penn State: http://www.creamery.psu.edu/
About John Harrison
As the “Official Taster” for Edy’s Grand Ice Cream and Nestlé Drumstick, John has dipped his golden spoon into more than 200 million gallons of America’s favorite frozen treat during his sweet career. In fact, John’s taste buds are such a cool asset that they are insured for One Million Dollars and provide the final word on what new flavors ice cream lovers scoop up in the freezer aisle each year.
Born into an ice cream-making family, John learned the business as a half-pint. His family has dipped into this sweet treat for four generations…from his great-grandfather’s chain of ice cream parlors in turn of the century New York City to his father’s ice cream ingredients factory in Atlanta. John's ice cream roots are so firmly planted that he claims, "My blood runs 16 percent butterfat."
His subsequent 35+ years have been spent in the ice cream industry, (not eating--but tasting!) and John and his discriminating taste buds have become quite famous. In 1997, he received the Master Taster of the Year award from the American Tasting Institute.
At 65 years of age, John’s taste buds are still in their prime. The tongue is comprised of 9,000 taste buds; each bud has ten to 15 receptacles that send messages to the brain to let you know whether you are eating something bitter, sweet, salty or sour. When sampling ice cream, the main focus of the taste buds is to decipher the quality top notes and balance of the fresh cream, sweeteners and natural flavors.
According to John, one simple thing anyone can do to enhance the ice cream eating experience is to eat ice cream at the right temperature, 10 degrees. Most people eat it right out of the freezer at about 5 degrees, but allowing ice cream to soften and warm up a little brings out the flavor.
In order to distinguish the subtleties of ice cream, John protects his taste buds. He stays away from spicy and hot foods during the week, he doesn't drink alcohol or smoke, and he drinks herbal tea to get his taste buds going in the morning.
John claims he has the best job in the world, “It’s like being Willy Wonka!” However, there are some drawbacks to the job. Similar to wine tasting, John rarely swallows the frozen pops or ice cream -- he takes a cool biteful, swirls it around his mouth, covering all taste buds, smacks his lips to aerate the product, brings the aroma back through his nose then unceremoniously spits it out.
In addition to his million-dollar tongue, John also has a flair for developing new flavors and has been a major influence in the creation of popular favorites such as Cookies 'N Cream, New York Blueberry Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Cup and Peaches 'N Cream.