Features

SAN FRANCISCO — The state famous for its sunshine and beaches leads the nation in another summertime staple: ice cream. 

California produced about 145 million gallons of ice cream last year, 64 million gallons more than Indiana, the No. 2 state, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. 

“The dairies have gotten bigger, and there’s more milk per cow, and the number of cows has gotten bigger,” said Karen Dapper, a research analyst for the Dairy Marketing Branch of the state’s Department of Food and Agriculture. “The number of dairy farms is going down, but the number of cows and milk production has gone up.” 

Tulare County, the No. 1 agriculture county in the state, has 312 dairies that brought in about $1.2 billion in milk production alone in 2001. 

“We had the first $1 billion commodity this year and that was milk,” said Tulare County Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Bill Appleby. “A lot of dairies have moved up here from Southern California, where they’re paving over agricultural land.” 

California has more than 2,100 dairies, about 1.55 million cows and about 35 ice cream plants. 

Americans spent nearly $20 billion dollars on ice cream and other frozen desserts in 2000, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. 

Ice cream has become such a part of the American life, that it has surpassed apple pie as the No. 1 dessert — at least in the assessment of John Harrison, ice cream connoisseur. 

Harrison is the official taste tester for Oakland-based Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream. 

Using a golden spoon to prevent aftertaste, Harrison tastes about 60 samples a day, examining them for appearance, flavor and texture. He compares his work to that done in another California specialty — wines. 

“I start with the white wines of ice cream — vanilla, vanilla bean — and work my way up to the heavy Bordeaux of ice cream — black walnut, mint chocolate chip,” he said. 

Harrison’s work is so valuable that Dreyer’s insured his tastebuds for $1 million. He also takes care to avoid spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol during the week. 

“On Friday night, I can let the hair down and have a little pepperoni pizza or some garlic mashed potatoes,” he said. 

Harrison developed the flavor Cookies ’N Cream for Dreyer’s, but his favorite ice cream is the nation’s most popular flavor — vanilla.