SDSU unveils 125th anniversary ice cream

South Dakota State University’s Dairy Science Department has launched a new ice cream flavor in honor of SDSU’s 125th anniversary. The ice cream, Campanile Crunch, epitomizes SDSU’s contributions to the state of South Dakota in the past 125 years. It contains a unique mixture of wheat, oats, honey roasted soy nuts, sunflower seeds, corn sweetener, and chocolate chips.

“We wanted something that was more than just ice cream,” Dairy Science Department Head Vikram Mistry says. “Campanile Crunch is symbolic. It celebrates 125 years of SDSU history, and SDSU’s impacts on South Dakota.

“ Look at what the people of South Dakota have accomplished in the past 125 years. A century and a quarter ago, there wasn’t much agriculture in the state. Today, agriculture is flourishing, in part because of contributions from SDSU. We wanted to capture all of that into the flavor of the ice cream. You can say we’re freezing 125 years of history.”

Campanile Crunch has a nutty, crunchy taste and lots of texture, says Dairy Plant Manager Howard Bonnemann. Howard and Dr. Bob Baer, Professor in Dairy Science were instrumental in developing the ice cream. “We used a basic vanilla background and blended in the ingredients in a balanced way, so none of them is overpowering the others.”

The Dairy Science Department held a contest in Fall 2005, inviting flavor and name suggestions from the public. The department received about 120 entries. Some were very good and may be used eventually, Mistry says.

Bonnemann explains that ideas for ingredients mostly came from people in the Dairy Science Department, combined with some of the suggestions from the contest. “We looked at the ideas and narrowed them down to six or seven possibilities, which we served at our departmental Christmas party as a taste test. By combining the different ideas and inputs, we were able to come up with a product that has a unique profile, a good flavor, and connections to South Dakota agriculture,” Bonnemann says.

Campanile Crunch was unveiled in connection with SDSU’s 125th anniversary party on Feb. 21, 2006. It is available at the SDSU Dairy Bar and other places that sell SDSU ice cream.

South Dakota State University / Dairy Science Department
Dairy Microbiology Rm 109 / Phone: 605-688-4116
College of Agricultural and Biological Sciences