Skip to Main Content

Purdue food science team develops a new take on the classic derby pie

A team of graduate and undergraduate students from the Food Science Department has been selected as finalists for the American Society of Baking’s (ASB) annual product development competition.

The students exhibit their talent and expertise, network with industry professionals and access a potential launch pad for their newly developed product in the challenge. Graduate students Joseph King, Anbuhkani (Connie) Muniandy and Julia Schmidt constitute the Purdue team headed to this year’s final competition.

The ASB is a professional organization of the wholesale baking community composed of baking professionals, food technologists and experts in engineering, equipment and ingredients.

Each year the ASB competition issues a different challenge to its competitors. This year’s challenge was to bake a product using a “novel protein source” that is not commonly found in food. This could include insects, algae seaweed, rapeseed and many other ingredients.

The Purdue team decided to capitalize on the success of the burgeoning hemp industry and incorporate hemp protein into their product. The “herby pie” the team developed is a take on the Kentucky classic derby pie, traditionally a chocolate nutty pie, often flavored with bourbon and topped with whipped cream.

“Our herby pie is bite size but big on flavor,” Muniandy said. “It capitalizes on the nutty flavor and intense green color of hemp seed protein. The product consists of vanilla-infused hemp seed protein short crust pastry that encases a sweet filling made from chocolate, walnuts, hemp protein and bourbon extract.”

King added, “The competition allows me to flex my creative thinking in ways I don’t always get to in the lab. What makes the project even more fun is our final product takes major inspiration from the derby festival which is huge in my hometown.”

This is the third consecutive year a Purdue food science team has been selected as finalists for the ASB product development competition. The final round takes place on March 1 in Chicago. Contestants from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona College and the University of Florida will compete against the Purdue team for first place and the accompanying scholarship award. According to ASB, this year’s scholarship awards total over $40,000.

Featured Stories

 Aerial view of a combine actively harvesting corn in a large field during harvest season.
Climate change, Purdue DIAL Ventures issues report on climate-smart agriculture opportunities and challenges

A new report issued by the Purdue Applied Research Institute’s Digital Innovation in...

Read More
Charles Hinkles Portrait
Seeing the Century: A Life in Agricultural Engineering

Framed illustrations of barns in Charles (Chuck) Hinkle’s tidy apartment in a West...

Read More
a girl smiling
Undergraduate Student Spotlight: Sophia Bollenbacher

Sophia Bollenbacher, a junior studying animal sciences, grew up on Bolle-Acres Jersey Farm in...

Read More
A resilient agricultural systems infographic depicting limited disturbance of soils, inclusion of cover crops and preservation of biodiversity.
Purdue University to host inaugural Resilient Agriculture Summit

Whether it’s called sustainable, regenerative or resilient agriculture, farmers across...

Read More
Purdue Digital Forestry Students
Purdue digital forestry students win first prize in 2024 Annual GeoChallenge

A team of digital forestry graduate students from Purdue University won first prize in the...

Read More
Woman shopping at grocery store
Consumer stress over grocery prices stands at midpoint

Stress levels due to grocery prices are mixed, and most consumers are at least somewhat familiar...

Read More
To Top