UNT makes their own brand of ice cream

by Erica Martinez of North Texas Daily

So far, they've scooped up pineapple cilantro, apple pie, chocolate-covered avocado, and more.

DENTON — After attending Ice Cream University in Florida, representatives from UNT Dining Services created Scrappy’s Ice Cream, UNT’s very own homemade ice cream now being sold and served across campus.

Associate Director of Resident Dining Peter Balabuch and Sous Chef Jake Gravley make the ice cream in Kerr Hall, store it in a batch freezer, and sell and serve it on a daily basis.

They started out slowly, serving it in Kerr Hall beside other name-brand ice creams while they tested out flavors.

“We serve it daily in Kerr, and it is available for purchase in the Corner Store,” Balabuch said. “For some catering events, we’ll also serve a special flavor, depending on the event.”

The Dining Services has served the ice cream at several on-campus events, such as International Week, where they served a pineapple cilantro-flavored ice cream and at this year’s Move-In Day, where they made and served 200 gallons of lime margarita ice cream for students and their families.

“We do a number of different flavors,” Balabuch said. “We got a good grip on chocolate, we’ve got a good grip on strawberry, vanilla, and cookies and cream. We also do apple pie. We’ve done a chocolate-covered avocado and a candied ginger ice cream.”

The most popular flavor has been cookies and cream, which is sold in the Corner Store, he said.

“I just tried cookies and cream, and I think it was really good,” pre-biology sophomore Christina Cobb said. “It’s different than other ice cream, and for $1, I don’t think you can beat that.”

It takes 10 to 11 minutes to make almost 12 gallons of ice cream, Balabuch said.

It is made every day from 12 p.m. to 1 a.m. and is served fresh.

“Right now, what we’re really worried about is what we’re putting out in the cafeterias and just those little containers of Scrappy,” Balabuch said. “We’re not worried about becoming big and taking over the ice cream world, we just want to make this for the students and serve it to them.”

Gravely said that the product is fresh, has no preservatives, and nothing goes into the ice cream that you can’t pronounce.

“It is full-flavored,” Balabuch said. “Everything that you want ice cream to have, it has.”