I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream research

By Lethbridge Herald on July 22, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

A Lethbridge Polytechnic researcher is using ice cream to spark conversations about food sustainability, health and innovation.

Rajpreet Goraya, a research scientist with the Centre for Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is currently conducting research on new, long-term storage options for sugar beets while maintaining sucrose integrity, to provide producers with another revenue source to reduce crop risk and increase revenue streams.

Goraya spent years prior to joining the polytechnic studying the science of ice cream, analyzing how the popular dessert can be used to preserve underutilized crops, such as Indian gooseberries, and by-products, like orange peels, to support healthier and more sustainable food choices.

“Ice cream is found in almost every culture and is worth celebrating,” says Goraya. “My goal has been to promote ice cream as a preservation tool, especially for underused crops, helping reduce food waste and increase access to nutrients in a delicious way.”

So far in her research they have been able to preserve sugar beet crops for up to a year and the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers can use it for different products. 

Goraya wrote her PhD thesis on the development of low-sugar and sugar-free ice cream, with a focus on culturally inspired flavours. 

“I think every age group enjoys ice cream, and people who are facing health issues can enjoy it too,” she says. “Like diabetic patients can enjoy and eat sugar-free ice cream.”

One of the things that attracted her to ice cream is the fact that it can help preserve a variety of perishable crops for a long time and this in turn reduces waste and financial losses. 

“You can use any crop like papaya, carrot, or any crops that are perishable, you can turn them into another product, add it to the ice cream and preserve it. And everyone can taste it and get nutrients out of it.”

She adds that by preserving perishable crops with ice cream, maximum nutrients can be regained. 

“If you go with other preservation techniques, some of them involve a loss in that nutrient because they are heat sensitive and they also have a life span to preserve, and with ice cream, you can preserve for about a year.”

While Goraya’s personal favourite ice cream flavour is vanilla, she says enjoys experimenting with flavours like rose petal and Indian gooseberry. 

“There are so many ways to innovate with ingredients that are packed with antioxidants and vitamins and still taste amazing.”