If you love America's favorite frozen treat, consider becoming an ice cream taster. Called tastemasters, sensory analysts and flavorologists. these professionals taste and evaluate ice cream every day. That sounds like one sweet career.
Educate yourself on what ice cream tasters do. They create new flavors, develop new products and perform quality assurance tests on existing inventory. They must know how to assess the best appearance, flavor and texture for developing or selecting a product and may serve as marketing representatives for their company.
Earn a university degree with an emphasis on food science (dairy), business (product development) or chemistry. Include marketing courses in brand management in your studies.
Work in a "scoop" shop. Hands-on experience in a small ice cream store offers practical knowledge about ice cream flavors and preservation, consumer preferences and operating a business. If you're not from a family who owns a dairy business or farm, this is the next best thing.
Find an apprenticeship with a professional at an ice cream manufacturing company. Wash the scoops, take notes, help with focus groups, check the freezer temperature. In short, do whatever it takes to immerse yourself in the ice cream-making environment.
Care for your palate. Your taste buds, tongue and mouth must all be healthy and free of flavors. Keep your immune system strong and avoid eating spicy or foods with pungent odors. Your capacity for taste must be objective.
Warning
Ice cream tasting is like wine tasting. Ice cream tasters don't ingest the ice cream they're testing.
