The university where I got my undergraduate degree is a land grant university, which means that it was established to teach practical agriculture, science, and engineering. To this day, it excels in each of those areas.
One of the best things, from the perspective of a student looking for that freshman 15, was that, as part of its agricultural teaching, it took dairy science very seriously. That means, fresh cheese and ice cream. I'm pretty sure that it makes some of the best ice cream ever created. As you wandered through campus, you could (and still can) get a heaping bowl of ice cream made by students at the Dairy Bar for $1. For that price, there was no such thing as a starving student.
Most of the ice cream flavors were pretty standard stuff--vanilla, cookies and cream, chocolate. More exotic flavors, such as butter brickle, butter pecan, and strawberry cheesecake rotated on and off the menu.
Sometime during my senior year there, I stopped by for a bowl of ice cream and saw that they had a contest for a new flavor. Being an avid Dairy Bar fan, I figured I could make a flavor that they couldn't refuse. Even if it was only destined for a rotation or two on the menu.
I grabbed a contest form and my bowl of ice cream and meditated on one of those uncomfortable outdoor patio furniture chairs that leave diamond-shaped indentations on the back of your legs.
What would be a guaranteed winner?
Thinking outside the box was something that I could occasionally do, and it seemed to me that the flavor didn't matter. It was the presentation that mattered. And if I presented the flavor in a way no one could turn down without seeming almost unpatriotic... Well, our mascot was plastered everywhere anyone might see should they momentarily be lacking school spirit. A blue and yellow jackrabbit.
Have you ever had Jackrabbit ice cream? It's lemon custard with blueberry swirls. It's available year-round at the Dairy Bar. And has been for the last 12 years.
I will note that last time I was there, I tried to buy some, but since they recently renovated the dairy plant and bar, that flavor wasn't back up and running, yet. I had to buy butter pecan instead.
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