John Harrison

John Harrison (born 1942) is an American ice cream taster, who worked for ice cream company Dreyer's (also known as Edy's) as its "Official Taste Tester" from 1980 to 2010.

Career Harrison joined Dreyer's in 1980, serving until his retirement in 2010, Harrison typically only tasted the ice cream. He used lukewarm water and an unsalted crackers as a palate cleanser. Based on his own estimates, he has tasted a few hundred million gallons of ice cream at Dreyer's. He has aided in the creation of more than one hundred unique ice cream flavors; he claims that he invented the flavor Cookies n' Cream. According to a World report on Harrison, "his taste buds are so fine-tuned he can immediately taste the difference between 12-percent and 11.5-percent butterfat in a product." The report also described him as the "most popular ice cream man in America". Harrison believes himself to be "the first national spokesman on ice cream". He has appeared on many television programs, as well as on other media.

Personal life Born in 1942, Harrison is married and currently resides in Palm Desert, California. He adheres to a very strict diet, avoiding alcohol, caffeine, onions, garlic and spicy foods so as not to affect his tasting skills.