Buck's
is more than just ice cream
by
Kathleen Sprouse, posted Sept. 19, 2007
Buck’s Ice Cream is a great
place to have a snack -- anything from a root beer float to
a scoop of famous “Tiger Stripe” ice cream. But
Buck’s does more than serve ice cream. MU students create
and mix new flavors there.
The MU Dairy Plant in Eckles
Hall closed in 1972 due to lack of funds. Students used to
make ice cream, cottage cheese and milk for the campus, hospital
and private companies. But Buck’s was brought back to
campus in 1989 thanks to Wendell and Ruth Arbuckle, former
administrators of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural
Resources. Since then, the establishment has continued to
serve ice cream in Eckles Hall, located on College Avenue and
Rollins Road, next to Hatch Hall.
Buck’s is unique because
of it being a pilot plant, a small-scale ice cream maker,
where students make batches of five to 100 gallons of ice
cream. Today, MU alumni even come back to use the facility
for their own businesses. Dairy House and Cereal Ingredients,
Inc., are two companies that test out new products and recipes,
including flavored juices, milks and ice creams and artificial
ingredients for baking at Buck’s. Companies will make
sample batches of their egg nog at Buck’s and market
it to stores for the winter season. It is more cost effective
for these companies to use Buck’s to perfect their recipes,
said Rick Lindhardt, who has managed Buck’s for 15 years.
Lindhardt enjoys working with companies and students, creating
new recipes and serving customers.
“Ice cream is a happy food;
customers always have a smile on their face when they come
into Buck’s,” Lindhardt said.
Peter Graf, a graduate student
in food science and nutrition, not only dishes up ice cream
at Buck’s but he also enjoys creating his own flavors.
His most recent, banana crunch, has been a big hit and his
next creation will be cinnamon.
“I fell into this job,”
Graf said.
But after working for Buck’s
for almost four months, Graf is considering a job in the dairy
industry.
This semester seven students
are working at Buck’s, and Lindhardt said the shop is
still hiring. Buck’s gives MU students the opportunity
to be hands-on in the ice cream process.
“It is all student run,”
Lindhardt said of the students creating flavors, mixing batches
and serving customers.
