Aggie Creamery and Aggie Chocolate Factory Earn Best of State Honors

Aggie Ice Cream and cheeses from the Aggie Creamery at Utah State University have been favorites of students, alumni and Cache Valley visitors for generations and relative newcomer Aggie chocolate has won over artisan chocolate lovers. Now these delicious results of research and teaching in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences have been awarded Best of State honors in the categories of specialty cheeses, ice cream and culinary chocolate.

Utah’s Best of State Awards recognize organizations and businesses in Utah that are outstanding in their field of work. Applicants are required to write about achievements in their field of endeavor, including innovation or creativity in their approaches, techniques, methods or processes, and the contribution their business makes to the quality of life in Utah. Over 100 judges review each nomination before casting their votes, applications with the highest number of votes win a Best of State medal.

The Aggie Creamery is a unique processing facility, teaching and research center and store all wrapped in one package that produces award-winning cheese and ice cream. Using milk sourced from Utah State University’s Caine Dairy, each product is processed and packaged in the Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences building by students and staff — all at the hands of Aggies. The Aggie Creamery is home to 25 different flavors, ranging from fan-favorite Aggie Blue Mint to nostalgic Lemon Custard and several seasonal flavors as well. Though the Aggie Creamery is most famous for its ice cream achievements, it is also a successful cheese-making establishment, with its hard Parmesan-style Aggiano cheese and Old Juniper, an aged cheddar, earning gold status at the Utah Cheese Awards. Aggiano is now the most award-winning cheese in the state, earning the gold status every year of the contest.

The Aggie Chocolate Factory is the only bean-to-bar facility operated by an academic institution and it primarily produces unique products with only two ingredients: cocoa and sugar. The factory sources sustainably produced, fair trade beans from countries worldwide to produce chocolates with different flavor profiles. Combining academics with the Aggie Chocolate Factory has allowed hundreds of USU students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to hands-on experiences with chocolate and state-of-the-art equipment. The Aggie Chocolate Factory doesn’t limit its services to students, but also supports the confectionery industry by offering its expertise and facilities to established and start-up businesses alike. The facility also serves as an important venue for short courses offered to confectioners across the United States and Canada.