BEST BUDS LIFE IS SWEET FOR ICE CREAM MAN.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

Life is sweet for John Harrison. As the official taste tester and ambassador for Oakland-based Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, founded in 1929, he has what many would consider a plum of a job.

You'll often find him with a golden spoon in his mouth as he tastes and assesses dozens of ice creams, frozen yogurts, sherbets, sorbets and other frozen desserts daily. If he doesn't like what he tastes, it doesn't leave the plant.

``It's the Willie Wonka job in America,'' said Harrison during a recent visit to the Los Angeles area. He has tasted more than 180 million gallons of ice cream during his career.

Dreyer's (marketed under the Edy's label in states east of the Rocky Mountains) depends on his tongue and its 9,000 taste buds. In fact, so much so that the company has insured them for $1 million. ``That's around $110 a taste bud,'' he said laughing.

So how did he get so lucky? His tasting skills were honed during his growing-up years (his mother was an excellent cook) and while working in the industry. Ice cream runs in his family - four generations have been in the business - reaching back to the 1880s, when his great-grandfather made and sold his own ice cream and candy in Manhattan.

``My grandfather started the first dairy co-op in Tennessee, and my uncle Tom owned an ice cream factory in Memphis where I worked during my high school and college days. I grew up drinking 40 percent (butterfat) cream in his factory and learning the nuances of ice cream.''

Then he went to work with his father, a formulator, selling ingredients such as chocolate, cocoa, fruits and flavorings to ice cream manufacturers in the western states.

As fate would have it, he ended up at Dreyer's after an opportunity to solve a formulation issue made the company aware of his talents - and they designed a position for him. That was in 1982 - and the rest is history. Initially he was both a taster and flavor developer, but as the company grew he settled into his role as official taster and company spokesman.

These days, when he's not traveling and buying and sampling ice creams in supermarkets and stores throughout the country, a typical day in the office starts at 7:30 a.m. when his taste buds are at their prime. It includes taste-testing and evaluating for quality 60 packages of 20 flavors of frozen desserts produced the day before (from the beginning, middle and end of the run), which are left in his freezer.

He removes a carton at a time - starting with the white wines of ice cream - which translates into vanilla - and working his way up to the heavy Bordeaux - the stronger, heavier flavors like chocolate, mint, coffee, etc. Each carton is split lengthwise in half with a large, special ice cream knife. He checks appearance and color (too light, too dark, unnatural).

``It must look inviting because first we eat with our eyes. I'm looking for even distribution of the added ingredients such as nuts and chocolate pieces and the evenness of swirls and patterns of items (if present) like marshmallow, caramel or raspberry.''

Harrison then checks the temperature of the ice cream with a thermometer to make sure it is at 10 to 12 degrees F (somewhat melted) - the optimum for flavor sampling.

``If the ice cream is too cold, you can't taste the flavor.'' However, he pointed out that at home, most consumers eat ice cream at 5 degrees F or just above zero.

Then he scoops a small sample with his gold-plated spoon. ``Gold,'' he explained, ``does not have a resin aftertaste like wood or plastic.'' Then he turns the spoon upside down, placing the sample on his tongue.

Next he swirls, smacks and spits.

``I don't swallow the ice cream because I would get too full and my taste would lose its sharpness.''

He is looking for flavor (unnatural, salty, too sweet, lacks sweetness), body and texture (smooth, creamy, coarse, icy, gummy, fluffy, etc.) and balance. Flavored ice cream should be well balanced between the fresh cream, sweeteners and flavoring material. He knows immediately if the product passes muster and meets company quality standards.

If not, that batch of still-edible ice cream is donated to food banks - close to half a million gallons produced last year.

``Too many pecans in butter pecan is just as wrong as not enough. If consumers are paying top dollar for ice cream, they expect consistency and quality - and they deserve it.''

On a problem-free day, tasting is completed by noon - and the balance of the day is spent consulting on new products, flavors, ingredients, suppliers and other ideas.

At other times, you might find Harrison training employees to taste, which takes eight hours a month for three months. He trains all of company's tasters, including two quality-control tasters in each of the six plants (City of Commerce; Union City, Calif.; Salt Lake City; Denver; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Houston, Texas) located throughout the United States, along with 35 additional tasters at the corporate office in Oakland who evaluate product reformulations and ingredients that go into the company's products.

But tasting has its downside. Harrison adheres to a specific list of no-no's during the week (as do all the tasters). No garlic, no onions, no hot or spicy foods, no smoking, no alcohol, no coffee (decaffenated herbal tea is allowed), no cayenne pepper. But a bland, boring diet (with foods such as mashed potatoes, roasted chicken, steak, plain hamburgers and veggies) doesn't faze the jovial man with the large laugh. When you're getting paid six figures, it's not an issue, he said.

On weekends, however, Harrison turns the tables and indulges in favorite foods (and you might even find him cooking some of them) such as pepperoni pizzas, spaghetti (with garlic), spicy barbecued creations, meat loaves and dishes redolent with garlic.

The ice cream market in America today is very fragramented, with approximately 500 ice cream manufacturers, according to Diane McIntyre, Dreyer's public relations director. Dreyer's was the largest in 1999 with a 15 percent market share ($1.1 billion in sales), followed by Breyer's with 14 percent and Dean Foods (in the Midwest) with 7 percent, said Harrison.

California produces more ice cream than any other state. According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) in Washington, D.C., in 1998 Calfornia produced about 160 million gallons of ice cream (regular, low-fat and non-fat) and 180 million gallons of frozen daiy products (including ice creams, yogurts, ices, sherbets, etc.).

Ice cream production in the United States for the same year totaled 1.4 billion gallons (regular, low-fat and non-fat), while frozen dairy desserts produced totaled 1.6 billion gallons. That amounts to U.S. per-capita consumption of 20.57 quarts of ice cream in 1998 and 24.01 quarts of frozen dairy desserts.

As far as ice cream trends, ``Indulgent is where the pendulum is today,'' said Harrison, adding that about 70 percent of Dreyer's volume is real ice cream and 30 percent is low-fat, no sugar, yogurt and other frozen dessert products. In the future, who knows. ``There is nothing new under the sun except new combinations of ingredients.''

Dreyer's annually produces 125 flavors of all brands (including Godiva, Starbucks, Dreamery and Healthy Choice) of ice creams, yogurts, sorbets, light ice creams, sugar-free ice creams, bars, etc. Some 15 new flavors (10 of them ice creams) are introduced by Dreyer's each year. Currently, six new M&M Mars flavors with Snickers, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Twix and M&M candies, along with three Girl Scout cookie ice creams including Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs, are available.

Harrison encourages consumers to slow down, taste and enjoy ice cream. ``Life is uncertain, so eat dessert.''

SPOTLIGHT ON... JOHN HARRISON

--Age: 57.

--Profession: Official taster for Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.

--Hometown: Memphis.

--Favorite foods: Spaghetti; steak; chicken; Italian.

--Favorite junk food: Crunchy Cheetos.

--Secret food passion: Homemade soups.

--Favorite thing to cook and eat: Spaghetti.

--Favorite ice cream flavors: Vanilla bean, cookies `n' cream, rocky road and strawberry cheesecake.

--Most popular dishes he makes: Angel hair pasta with white sauce and smoked salmon; pasta with red sauce and meat.

--Pet peeve: Not enough time in day.

--Ideal vacation: A trans-Atlantic cruise with a big-band orchestra - dancing his way across the water.

--Favorite restaurant: Scott's Seafood Restaurant in Oakland on the Embarcadero. Try the white clam chowder, popcorn shrimp and petrale soul with capers.

--Favorite kitchen gadget: Garlic press.

--What does he do when not tasting?: Ministers to men at the state prison in Vacaville.

--If he couldn't be a taster, what would he be?: A minister of the gospel.

--Dream job: He has it. ``There are 10 million people who want my job and they are waiting for me to hang up my buds,'' he says.

--If he could dine with anyone (current or in history), who would it be?: The late James Beard.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) John Harrison, official taste tester for Dreyer's, samples various flavors of ice cream.

(2 -- color) no caption (John Harrison)

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box: SPOTLIGHT ON... JOHN HARRISON (see text)