Blue Bell Creamery by: Kinley

 On the 7th day of our trip, we decided to go to Blue Bell Creamery. Though we couldn’t take pictures, I was able to learn a lot about the process and history. I learned how this favored ice cream made its way from a dairy farm to on our grocery store shelves, and I’d like to share it with you. The process starts on the farm where fresh milk is collected from the Southeastern states. The fresh milk is then sent directly from the dairy to the Sylacauga production facility. Before any milk is unloaded, it is thoroughly tested to ensure quality and flavor. After testing, the milk is sent to be made into ice cream. The ice cream base consists of milk, sugar, cream, and other various flavors to amplify taste and quality. All of these ingredients are then blended together into an ice cream mix. This mix is then pasteurized at a high temperature to ensure only the best quality.

The homogenizer- a piece of industrial equipment used to blend elements that is the same throughout-is set to high power to make sure the mix comes out smooth and creamy. This is when flavoring such as vanilla or chocolate is blended into the mix. This provides a stable base layer. The ice cream is then sent into the freezer where it is to come out at the consistency and temperature of a milkshake. This is when any extra ingredients are added, such as cookies, fruits, nuts, or cake pieces. After blended together, the cartons are then filled at the milkshake consistency. The cartons are sent into a blast freezer where they are kept fresh at minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It is then loaded into Blue Bell trailers at a constant temperature of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. From the Sylacauga the ice cream is sent to distribution centers and places Blue Bell sells their ice cream. They are then sent to our local grocery stores in special trucks called bobtails. Only Blue Bell employees handle the ice cream until it’s put on the shelf. This is to ensure cleanliness. Employees also consistently check the stock regularly. Overall, seeing the Blue Bell employees work and learning about the whole ice cream process was very interesting to learn and I hope you enjoyed it too!

After learning about how the ice cream was made we were able to taste the delicious flavors of ice cream. The pictures below show the story of how Blue Bell is made.