The University of Guelph’s ice cream technology course – the oldest in North America – is the topic of a new book by Guelph alumna Pat Bowley.

Celebrating 100 Years at the College of Ice Cream looks at the origins of the course at U of G, as well as the ice cream industry in Ontario.

Offered since 1914 by the Ontario Agricultural College, the annual course is the only one of its kind in Canada.

“The ice cream industry in Ontario was really just at its infancy in 1914,” food science professor Doug Goff says in the book. A leading Canadian expert on ice cream, he has taught the course since 1987.

“As the course evolved through time, it did so in keeping with the demands of the evolving and changing industry.”

The course covers a range of topics, including mix composition, the freezing process, novelty manufacturing, flavour-making, dairy microbiology and food safety. Each year, the course attracts employees of about 50 manufacturers, suppliers and regulators.

Bowley, who earned a PhD in history from Guelph in 2013, wrote an earlier book about the history of soybean farming in Ontario.