Dr. Maya Warren thinks her STEM job is one of the sweetest ones around. It’s easy to see why. She makes ice cream! Warren owns a business called IC3 CRM. She helps companies around the world develop new flavors of ice cream, from peanut butter and jelly to ketchup! She uses chemistry, technology, and math in her work.

“So much science goes into making ice cream,” she says. “And people are so curious about it!”

That’s why Warren also appears on TV shows to give others a peek into the fascinating world of food science.

“There are hardly any food scientists on television. It’s almost like we don’t exist in the food world. And yet we feed more people than chefs do,” says Warren. Food scientists develop packaged foods and frozen foods that appear on grocery store shelves.

“I want to shed light on who food scientists are, what we do, and what scientists look like,” Warren says.

Warren spoke with SuperSTEM about the sweet life of an ice cream scientist.

Dr. Maya Warren has a sweet STEM job. She makes ice cream! Warren owns a business. It’s called IC3 CRM. She helps companies around the world. She creates new flavors of ice cream for them. The flavors could be anything. They could be peanut butter and jelly. Or they could be ketchup! She uses chemistry in her work. She also uses technology and math.

“So much science goes into making ice cream,” says Warren. “And people are so curious about it!”

That’s why Warren also goes on TV shows. She shares food science with others. 

“There are hardly any food scientists on television,” says Warren. “It’s almost like we don’t exist in the food world. And yet we feed more people than chefs do.” Food scientists create packaged and frozen foods. These foods are sold in grocery stores.

“I want to shed light on who food scientists are. What we do. And what scientists look like,” says Warren. 

Warren spoke with SuperSTEM. She talked about an ice cream scientist’s sweet life.

It started when I was 6 years old. I got a kids’ oven that used a light bulb to bake simple recipes. I remember pouring brownie mix into the toy’s tiny pan. Then I put it into the oven and watched it transform. I was so into it! That was my first experience with a chemical reaction.

In high school, I got even more interested in chemistry. My teacher was so encouraging. That’s why I studied chemistry in college.

One day I saw a TV show that featured a flavor chemistry lab. I remember thinking, “Wow! How do I become a flavor chemist?” I decided to pursue food science.

My goal was to become an expert in ice cream. And that’s what I am. I love what I do!

It started when I was 6 years old. I got a kids’ oven. It used heat from a light bulb. It baked simple recipes. The toy had a tiny pan. I poured in brownie mix. Then I put the pan into the oven. I watched the batter change as it baked. I was so into it! That was my first chemical reaction.

I got even more into chemistry in high school. I had a teacher who supported me. That’s why I studied chemistry in college.

One day I saw something on TV. It was a flavor chemistry lab. It made me think, “Wow! How do I become a flavor chemist?” So I became a food scientist.

I wanted to be an ice cream expert. And that’s what I am. I love what I do!

Ice cream’s main ingredient isn’t cream. It’s air! You don’t really see it. You don’t taste it. But you do feel it. Air makes ice cream soft and scoopable. Without air, ice cream would be a hard block of milky ice—like an ice pop!

Cream isn’t the main thing in ice cream. It’s air! You don’t see it. You don’t taste it. But you feel it. Air makes ice cream soft. That’s why it can be scooped. Ice cream would be hard without air. You’d just have a block of milky ice. It would be more like an ice pop!

Everything! It’s ice cream, chemistry, creativity, and communication. Ice cream is an amazing tool for connecting with people. You instantly have people’s attention. Sharing food science with others is my mission.

Everything! It’s ice cream. It’s chemistry. It’s creativity. Ice cream is a great way to connect with people. You quickly have their attention. I love sharing food science with others. It’s my mission.