Why Howling Cow Ice Cream is So Popular in North Carolina

Stacey Leasca
Updated
Why Howling Cow Ice Cream is So Popular in North Carolina

For more than 50 years the students at North Carolina State have been holding onto a secret. And that secret is the fact that their school is actually home to one of the best ice cream brands on earth. But, getting your hands on a scoop is harder than you think.

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In case you missed it, our delicious howling cow ice cream can now be purchased at selected grocery stores around Raleigh! Howling cow ice cream is a great example of how we #ThinkAndDo at NC State by combining food science with engineering, right here on campus, at Schaub Hall! A ???? of howling cow is certainly a must have when you visit our campus! #wpn_Mateo #engineering #howlingcow

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You see, for years the students and faculty at NC State have been hand-crafting Howling Cow ice cream from scratch. And we really mean from scratch.

According to Our State, the 160 cows that produce the milk for the ice cream are all born, raised, and cared for right on campus at the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science’s Feldmeier Dairy Processing Lab in Schaub Hall. That milk is then processed on campus and turned into a creamy, delicious treat. Then, the frozen ice cream is sold exclusively on-site to students, faculty, and visitors, and made available once a year at the North Carolina State Fair.

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If you happen to be in town you could always go in for a cone and a few scoops, which include classics like vanilla and chocolate along with a few originals like lemon wafer and butter almond. But, if you can only get your hands on one single flavor it’s got to be Wolf Tracks. And really, that’s not surprising considering it comes with vanilla and fudge-swirled ice cream with mini peanut butter cups. The cream, Our State reported, was created by the chancellor.

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Monday blues

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Of course, any time you visit you could be delighted with a new flavor as the team is constantly tinkering with recipes. Just know that what they do takes time and plenty of effort, so savor every spoonful.

“It takes a good three to five months to make a flavor,” Howling Cow Director Gary Cartwright told Our State. “By modifying the background flavor, the freeze-ins, and the ripple, we can make thousands of flavors.”

In a surprise move in January, it was announced it would be selling pints at 16 Harris Teeter locations. However, as ABC explained, the Howling Cow ice cream you can buy at the store isn’t made with NC State Cows.

Instead, the milk comes from area cows in High Point, North Carolina. It’s still their recipes and their formulas, but you’ll have to try it for yourself to see if it’s really the same.