Eating ice cream for a living

Remember all the times people told you nothing good could possibly come from having that second scoop of ice cream? Well, Maya Warren is living proof that even adults with the best intentions sometimes get it wrong. She's made a successful career of eating ice cream! And she's loving every scoop.
After getting a bachelor's degree in chemistry, the spunky American decided to take the old adage 'follow your passion' to heart, and turned her love for ice cream into a career.
"I was going to be a high school chemistry teacher or a sports doctor," she explains, grinning from ear to ear, during a recent trip to Dubai. "But neither really excited me. Then one day, I was watching The Food Network and I just fell in love with the science of foods. So when I found out that I could actually apply my chemistry to ice cream, I jumped at the chance."
There were some detours along the way - namely, her participation in The Amazing Race in 2014. Anyone who is a fan of the show will probably recognise Warren, and her 'sweet scientist' partner Amy DeJong as the winners of the CBS reality competition's 25th season (further proof that studying the sugary stuff can indeed give you all the life skills you need).
Following her victory, Warren got straight back into the science of ice cream, and her years of hard work have since paid off. Having successfully gained her PhD last year, she was appointed Tastemaster for Cold Stone Creamery, and she now works as the face of the brand, promoting it worldwide - while, of course, tasting lots of ice cream.
 "I eat ice cream almost every single day," she says. "But there is a big difference between eating ice cream and tasting it. When I'm eating it, I go for the biggest scoop possible. But when I taste it, I go for sample sizes. At that point, I'm looking at the balance of flavour, creaminess, milk fat notes, iciness, gumminess, greasiness and density. I have to make sure the formula doesn't melt too fast but doesn't dry out either. No two scoops of ice cream are ever the same, because the microstructure is so complex. When tasting, I'm picturing how the fat globules, air cells and water crystals come together to create that perfect ice cream texture."
Clearly, being a food scientist isn't all peaches and ice cream. Maya goes on to explain that ice cream is one of the most complex foods known to man, as its structure consists of solid, liquid and gas - all at the same time. "There's a bit of science to all the foods we eat," she explains. "In fact, there are people all over the world, tasting foods and trying to figure out what exactly consumers want. Like tasting a strawberry milkshake and wondering if it should have more peachy notes or more grassy notes!"  
But all the work is worth it, she repeats, because she loves ice cream. Even in a world that is becoming increasingly health-conscious, ice cream has still managed to hold its own because it brings back fond memories of childhood. Warren, who  keeps track of what's trending worldwide, notes that while Monstershakes and the likes are a big hit internationally, a lot of people want simple, traditional flavours - with a hint of a twist.
"We actually work a year in advance, checking out what's done well in the market and what customers want more of (usually traditional flavours with a special touch, like chocolate with a hint of cayenne or cardamom). And that really is one of the best things about developing flavours - you can put literally anything into ice cream, from turmeric to doughnuts. So my advice is: don't knock it till you've tried it!"
THREE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ICE CREAM
You can never recreate ice cream. Once an ice cream is made, the fat globules come together in a way that creates that perception of creaminess. And once the ice crystals in an ice cream melt, even if you put the ice cream back into the freezer, the crystals will reform in larger shapes, changing the creamy texture we so love.
Do not try to keep churning ice cream. The fat globules can come together too much, and you can accidently create butter!
The most popular ice cream flavour around the world is vanilla. Vanilla is actually an extremely complex flavour profile, since there are many different types of vanilla from all over the world. Tanzanian vanilla, for instance, is completely different from Indonesian vanilla!
janice@khaleejtimes.com