News Release

Move over, Muscadine Ripple — to make room on the freezer shelf for two new Mississippi State-borne ice cream flavors.

Blueberry and sweet potato plan to join MSU’s 11 other palette-pleasing ice cream flavors in 2026 at the MAFES Sales Store, also the home of infamous MSU cheese.

Shecoya White, associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotion, and her students have been busy “cooking up” the new formulations to turn the state’s official fruit and vegetable into churnable ice cream. Their efforts have resulted in the development and testing of 15 to 20 variations of each flavor in her lab.

While the sweet potato-flavored ice cream may be unconventional, White and her team put the product in front of a stakeholder sensory panel in the north Mississippi town of Vardaman, known as “The Sweet Potato Capital of the World.” Judging was based on qualities like visual appeal, aroma, flavor, creaminess and texture.

As the sweet potato’s statewide production value currently stands at $82 million annually, the botanical blueberry—a summer fruit favorite—contributes $115 million in production value and is a staple of the state’s horticulture industry.

The new flavors, along with a new dairy-free Muscadine Ripple, will be sold on campus once the formulations are finalized and ready for production.