Ice Cream Short Course

To learn how to make quality ice cream, dairy manufacturers as well as wholesalers and owners of "mom and pop operations" come from as far away as Brazil to take the Creamery's Ice Cream Short Course. First taught in 1892 and offered continuously since 1925, the course covers the production spectrum from choosing ingredients and mixing to equipment and freezing. Participants also learn to identify problems in substandard ice cream through a taste-testing procedure involving various blends of vanilla, fat, sugar, or stabilizers.

The Ice Cream Short Course grew out of dairy science instruction given at the Creamery since its opening. The first such operation, known as the State College Creamery, was a one-story building constructed in 1895. It had a cold-storage room, cream-ripening room, workroom, and office space. It processed milk and churned butter, and horse-drawn wagons made deliveries to State College residents. The families of famous Penn Staters--the Pattees, Osmonds, and Athertons, among others--once bought Creamery milk for 5¢ a quart. Dairy Science Short Courses became so popular that University herds could not keep up with the demand for milk, and local farmers would line up to deliver more. In 1932 the Creamery moved into the newly built Borland Laboratory. Using milk and cream from 300 area farmers, the Creamery made cheese and ice cream to sell in the State College and Altoona markets. The Creamery continued to make deliveries, minus horse and wagon, until 1959. A raw-milk receiving room and salesroom were added in 1960 and 1961.