Ferdinand’s showcases famous flavor in time for Mom’s Weekend
Seasonal favorite lemon chiffon expected to bring crowds of alumni, students, moms; food supervisor says shop has best ice cream, cheese
STEPHEN MURNANE | THE DAILY EVERGREEN
Sales associate Alexander Walker shares the plans to remain open for Mom’s Weekend as well as serving a very popular lemon flavor of ice cream that is loved by both moms and students Tuesday morning at the Ferdinand’s Ice Cream production observation room.
April 12, 2019
Ferdinand’s brought out its seasonal flavor, Lemon Chiffon, just in time for Mom’s Weekend.
“We bring back Lemon Chiffon because moms love Lemon Chiffon,” Ferdinand’s Food Supervisor Eric Needham said. “It is a tradition now to have it out the Monday before Mom’s Weekend.”
He said moms like to go to Ferdinand’s during Mom’s Weekend because of their products.
“We sell the best ice cream around and we have the best cheese too,” Needham said. “Everything we sell, from the honey to the chocolates, are all very good quality.”
Alexander Walker, sales associate at Ferdinand’s, said Mom’s Weekend gets just as busy as WSU home football games, possibly even busier. They clear out all the furniture to make room for the expected lines.
Needham said moms start to come in on Thursday and continue to visit until Saturday.
“I generally see moms start coming in on Thursday, Friday will be busy in the afternoon, and Saturday we are open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and we are busy with lines out the door and onto the street,” Needham said.
Needham said this is his first year working during Mom’s Weekend.
“Everyone should try it out,” he said. “Become a fan now so when you’re an alumnus you can come back.”
Food supervisor Eric Needham shares the shop’s plans to remain open for mom’s weekend as well as serving a very popular lemon flavor of ice cream, loved by moms, on Tuesday morning at Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe production observation room.
Needham says the process of making ice cream, including Lemon Chiffon is complex.
“We get the milk from the cows and put it through the pasteurizer, which heats the milk up and kills germs,” he said. “Then we put it through the homogenizers, which have rods in there to smoothen the ice cream.”
Needham said the ice cream is piped into a flavor vat that is then put into the ice cream freezer. It is then stirred to become creamier. The inclusions, such as candy, are added into the ice cream and stored in a freezer.
Walker said other than the Lemon Chiffon, the two most famous flavors at Ferdinand’s are Huckleberry Ripple and Cougar Tracks.
“I think we keep our prices pretty competitive when it comes to cheese and ice cream,” he said. “I know for ice cream we sell tons of it to students and you get a pretty good serving for only $2.35.”
Walker said Ferdinand’s gets alumni who attended WSU when it was called WSC before it was an established university.
“It’s so cool when we get older alumni who come down and they tell me they remember when Ferdinand’s was in Troy Hall,” he said.
Needham said lines are expected to be exceptionally long after 11 a.m. Saturday.
