Two new ice cream flavors developed by Mississippi State University students and faculty — blueberry and sweet potato — are expected to launch at the MAFES Store as early as spring 2026.

The project began in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where students tested recipes in the university’s pilot plant. Blueberries and sweet potatoes are both Mississippi’s official state fruit and vegetable. Both crops are grown widely across the state, and faculty said finding new ways to use them could help reduce food waste and increase sales.

Cerissa Cooley is a Spring 2025 culinary science graduate who is now an intermittent worker in Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion. Cooley was involved in the project before she graduated and said the goal was to find new uses for crops that are already widely grown in the state.

“Outside of making blueberry pies, sweet potato pies and casseroles, there has to be something else that we can do to decrease food waste, make culled crops useful and increase the sales of both crops all year round,” Cooley said.

Developing the flavors required months of trial and error. Students presented samples to the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council, which provided feedback on the formulas.

“They like the texture of the ice cream. Right now, we’re troubleshooting with the base that we have on campus. So, the students came up with their own vanilla base,” said Shecoya White, an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion, who has been leading this project.

Cooley described the process as demanding.

“It all started with testing different ice cream formulations at the pilot plant on campus, which included the taste and texture methods, and the ingredients of the ice cream. And I have to prepare samples to take to the Sweet Potato Council,” Cooley said. “…There were a lot of late nights and early mornings to be productive for this project.”

Krystell Charles Fajardo, a graduate student studying agriculture, said adjusting the balance of jam to ice cream was a challenge.

“It was just months of just getting to the right base, and then once we get the right base, how do we have a good jam?” Fajardo said, “And the ratios, how do we make sure it’s enough jam to how much ice cream?”

Taste-testing also took its toll on Fajardo.

“So many months of bad stomachaches because of how much ice cream I had eaten,” Fajardo said, laughing.

Reactions to the sweet potato flavor were mixed at first.

“Some people made faces,” Fajardo said. Cooley added, “There were many thoughts and judgments of the idea of sweet potato ice cream before we even made it. But once people tried it, many of them really enjoyed it.”

Ironically, White, who is leading this ice cream development, could not taste the project she was working on.

“I am lactose-intolerant, so the students actually came up with a non-dairy formulation so I could actually try it,” White said.

The project has already gained recognition. Cooley received first place at the Food Science Innovation Hub this past spring for her work, an award given to students for creative food production development. White said she has valued seeing students apply classroom lessons in a hands-on setting.

White said she has genuinely enjoyed seeing the students and herself make all of this come together.

“It’s a full circle. I’m taking what I’ve learned in the classroom in terms of the science aspects, we have the sensory aspects, and we’re putting all of that into practice,” White said.

As for Cooley, this is her attempt at being more involved in MSU culture.

“I wanted to be involved with the school, so playing a part in the development of the new ice cream flavors, although it was a lot of hard and tedious work, it helped me be able to plant a seed of being known as a person that helped create something for Mississippi State,” Cooley said.

While blueberry and sweet potato ice cream may reach shelves as soon as next semester, students and faculty say the work is ongoing.