World Renowned Creamery Kris Canner 12/16/13

It is not uncommon to see a line that stretches two blocks long and to encounter a wait time of over two hours to get ice cream at the Penn State University Creamery, also known as Berkey Creamery, on a football game Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

The Penn State University Creamery is the largest and most profitable University Creamery in the United States, said Tom Palchek, the manager of Berkey Creamery.

The Berkey Creamery is a part of the Penn State College of Agricultures worldrenowned Food Science Department and was built in 1865.

Penn State is very highly ranked in the nation for Food Science Departments and dairy research. Penn State ranks highly along with Cornell and Ohio State, said Penn State Junior and Food Science major Brian Wright.

The Food Science faculty produces scholarly literature in food research that is respected worldwide, and has been doing so for many years.

Food science students enjoy a one hundred percent employment rate upon graduation due to the departments respect in the food industry and great position in the dairy industry, Palchek said.

The interns that work in the dairy plant are food or dairy science interns. We occasionally have an engineering student in there as well. They are studying the way that the food is value added from the farm gate to the fork of the plate of the consumer, said Palchek.

The students learn ways to preserve and enrich food. They also learn about product development, Palchek said.

Penn State Food Science students also enjoy working with some of the best equipment in top rate facilities.

In 2006, the creamery moved from Borland Laboratory to a much larger location. The new location is three times the size of the creamery in Borland Laboratory in a brand new Food Science Building close to Beaver stadium.

We have a brand new building that is staffed with an incredible array of equipment, said Palchek. We have a processing plant, pile up plant, confectionary and chocolate plant, said Palchek.

Since moving to the new creamery, sales have risen by twenty five percent, Palchek said.

Penn States cow raising and milking process has provided Penn State with some of the best dairy products in the world, and has helped improve business.

All of our animals are raised here at Penn State. The cows are located right next to Beaver stadium. We milk between 215 to 225 cows throughout the year, said Virgina Ishler a professor in the Department of Animal Science specializing in Nutrient Management and Dairy.

Ishler said that each cow provides ten to eleven gallons of milk a day and the cow farm ships 34,000 pounds of milk every other day to a bulk tank in the creamery, where the milk is housed.

Animal science faculty and students research specific nutrition plans for the cows and look at what commercial farms would use to feed their animals.

At Penn State we are trying to balance the protein and carbohydrate balance to maximize the rumen function to create more cost effective ways to produce milk, said Ishler.

The cows are fed a diet of sixty five percent forage and thirty five percent concentrate, said Ishler.

Ishler said that this is a very healthy nutrition plan for the cows. She said that all of the food that the cows eat is grown on Penn States farms, and not imported.

A rumor that the FDA does not approve the selling of Penn State Ice Cream elsewhere due to the amount of fat in the milk has caused concern over the diet and process of milk production.

The FDA doesnt inspect us, and this rumor would be something they laugh at. Our ice cream consists of 14 percent fat and is in the premium category, said Palchek.

The main reason Penn State does not sell its ice cream and dairy products elsewhere is because the creamery is used for teaching and research and is not looking to enter a competition, according to Palchek.

Working in the creamery has been such a great learning experience. I have learned so much about the ice cream making process and running a business, said Berkey Creamery Student Supervisor Riley Smith.

Twenty-three full-time employees staff the creamery along with three interns in food science and ninety open major students.

Palchek said that the creamery has grown tremendously since he became manager 28 years ago. Today the creamery sells over 135 flavors of ice cream, various yogurts, sour creams, dips, spreads, cheeses and various milk products.

In the 1980s at Borland Laboratory the creamery was using three million pounds of milk a year, now we are using more than five million pounds of milk, said Palchek.

In recent years, the creamery has been the host of many famous faces.

Ben and Jerrys ice cream founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield took ice cream making courses at Penn State and U.S President Bill Clinton once had ice cream at the creamery said Palchek.

Palchek also said that Penn States College of Agriculture Food Science Departments innovative research on the best way to feed 320 Americans tasty and affordable food is something that should make Penn State very proud.