The scoop on Babcock ice cream
Think back to childhood and the thrill of hearing the ice cream truck drive through the neighborhood. Every kid goes frantic, rushing to get spare change from their parents and then chase after an old van slowly making its way down the street, blasting circus music through tiny speakers. Nothing was better than the rush of reaching the truck and indulging in a cool ice cream treat.
Wisconsinites and UW Madison students experience a similar enjoyment, even into adulthood, with Babcock Ice Cream. Produced in the university’s very own Babcock Hall Dairy Plant on Linden Street since 1951, this frozen delicacy has developed a nostalgic attachment with its consumers over the years.
Babcock Ice Cream is award-winning and frequently voted “Best of Madison” by Madison Magazine. The dairy plant makes about 75,000 gallons of ice cream in over 90 flavors throughout the year. A handful of standard flavors remain on the menu year round, like vanilla, chocolate, blue moon and butter pecan, but the rest of their repertoire rotates seasonally. The summer brings flavors such as cotton candy and pineapple cake, while pumpkin cream pie and peppermint ice cream show up in the fall and winter, with Irish cream making an appearance in the spring.
Perhaps the best evidence of how integral Babcock Ice Cream is to the UW experience are their numerous flavors named after Badger VIPs and special campus events. Berry Alvarez, berry ice cream with swirls of fruit pieces, is named after former football coach and current Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez. Bo’s Express and Strawbiddy Martin are tributes to men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan and Chancellor Biddy Martin, respectively. In the Dark honors the Wisconsin Film Festival every April, and Union Utopia, one of the most popular flavors, is named after the Wisconsin Union.
The most recent addition to the Babcock lineup, Mad Grad Medley, was unveiled June 23rd in honor of the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s 150th anniversary celebration. Mad Grad Medley’s ingredients were selected through a contest by Robert Bell, a UW Madison alumni and law school graduate. The new flavor features entirely Wisconsin-made ingredients, including milk and cream from Babcock, Door County cherries and dark chocolate flakes from a Milwaukee company. This particular combination, inspired by Bell’s German heritage, rose to the top of over 500 entries to reign victorious.
Despite the extensive selection, vanilla and chocolate chip cookie dough remain the most popular flavors.
For die-hard Babcock fans with dietary restrictions, there is no need to give up the tasty treats this summer. Vanilla, chocolate and blue moon are gluten free, and they also produce sherbet and frozen yogurt for a lower-fat dessert.
With the opening of Rennie’s Dairy Bar on June 15th, Babcock now also offers organic flavors of its famous ice cream. Located in the Wisconsin Institues for Discovery building, Rennie’s Dairy Bar serves organic flavors with seasonal or organic toppings. The grand opening featured free organic ice cream samples in vanilla and chocolate. Guests walked through Rennie’s dining area while learning about the ice cream bar.
Babcock Ice Cream is sold year round at The Daily Scoop in Memorial Union, where the line usually snakes through the main lobby, and in Union South. This summer, it is also available at an ice cream stand on the Terrace, the perfect place to cool off on a hot summer day. There’s no reason to feel guilty about indulging in this tasty treat; just think of it as exploring a longstanding, local tradition.
By Laura Wallack and Lydia Statz
