Cornell’s Dairy Bar becomes kosher certified

The Dairy Bar in Cornell University’s Stocking Hall has been a popular refreshment stop for a long time as it serves ice cream made fresh at the school’s own dairy plant.

But now it will have an added enticement: The offerings will all be certified kosher as Cornell’s dairy plant operation has undergone the rigorous process of passing kosher certification.

Not that a lot will change, says Dr. Joe Regenstein, professor emeritus of food science, who spearheaded the project as head of the Cornell Kosher and Halal Food Initiative.

“Most ice cream in the United States—all the big companies—are kosher,” he explains. “The ingredients they are bringing in are mostly kosher” which means that much of what was being served traditionally at the Dairy Bar wouldn’t have to change. The few exceptions are specialty additions or toppings such as marshmallows and gummy bears, which are generally made with animal byproducts forbidden by kosher rules, though permissible alternatives can sometimes be found.

Regenstein says kosher ice cream is a natural for an institution like Cornell.

“It has always been my dream to have Cornell ice cream be kosher,” he says. “It was something that I felt like a place like Cornell in New York State ought to be doing. We talk about diversity, and food is an important part of diversity,” noting that approximately 3,000 of Cornell’s 20,000 students are Jewish.

But the infrastructure wasn’t in place until the school rolled out a brand-new dairy plant operation several years ago that had the equipment adaptability to accommodate the kosher certification process.

“We did have to go through the equipment ‘kosherization’ process,” Regenstein says, explaining that among other things this involves certain specific cleansing steps using water of a specific temperature, all overseen by a rabbi, to prepare equipment properly. Of course, the equipment must also follow secular sanitation regulations governing the proper maintenance of food processing equipment.

A less complex process involved converting the Dairy Bar to handling the new certified-kosher ice cream products. The first step was using up the inventory of product that had been produced before the dairy plant was “kosherized.”

Once that was finished, the Dairy Bar was converted and the school held a launch party Oct. 26, giving away free sundae cups to the first 150 customers and offering dollar discounts on certain products after that.

For customers, there is little change in the Dairy Bar menu other than the absence of a few ingredients like marshmallows. Generally, there are a couple of dozen flavors available. The Dairy Bar also sells Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters branded specialty coffees and Mighty Leaf branded teas as well as hot and cold sandwiches, soups and various grab-and-go foods and bottled beverages. 

In addition to ice cream, the Cornell dairy plant also turns out other kosher products such as milk, yogurt, sour cream and even juices and ciders. The only non-kosher products being manufactured with Cornell-produced dairy products are ripened cheeses, though those are actually made elsewhere, Regenstein says.

In addition to the Dairy Bar, dairy plant kosher products may soon also be sold in two campus c-stores, and they are, of course, served in the school’s kosher dining hall. Availability in the regular all-you-care-to-eat dining halls is still to be determined because of potential issues posed by the way products are served in such an operation and how that might impact what certification claims can be made, Regenstein adds.

A byproduct of the new kosher ice cream production operation is the effect it has had on a class at the university in which teams of students traditionally created ice cream flavors that would be produced, mostly on a small batch basis, and sold in the dairy bar. 

“I actually went into that class [to explain] specific kosher rules for ice cream making so students were informed of the limitations,” Regenstein says. He notes that the experience is a valuable real-world lesson as many products in the commercial world require kosher certification and the experience gave students a leg up on working with kosher rules in formulating their ice cream flavors.