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By Mike Chidsey
In 1922, under the direction of Professor Gustav Wilster, "Lacto Ice Cream" was made and tested at Utah State University. Lacto ice cream was the first and founding flavor of USU's Aggie ice cream legacy, which now has 26 different flavors and is well known throughout the world. "It's better because it's fresher," Larree Nelson, USU student and ice cream scooper of three and a half years reports. Ice cream has a shelf life of about one year. Most ice creams found on the shelf at stores are already between one and six months old. Aggie ice cream is mostly sold locally and made in smaller batches, so it's always fresh on the shelf. "I think it's self-proclaimed fame" said Eric Dummer, a business information systems major who had not heard of the campus frozen treat until he attended SOAR, a summer orientation program for incoming freshmen to familiarize them with USU. One of SOAR's activities is to have the students visit the creamery for a free scoop of their favorite Aggie flavor. "But it is very rich and creamy," Dummer said after some thought. The rich creaminess of Aggie ice cream comes from its 12% butter fat content. It is also aged slightly longer and filled with less air than most commercial brands. Nick Thompson, frozen foods manager at Lee's Marketplace, attributes the popularity of Aggie ice cream to the many flavors, the recipe and the name itself. Lee's is one of the few stores that sells the ice cream. "We like to sell things grown and made in Cache Valley," Thompson said. "It helps out the community." A large assortment of Aggie cce cream can be found at both of the store's locations. "There is a demand for it. People come in looking for it." One of the reasons it can only be found in a handful of places is that the USU Dairy Product Lab, where it's produced, has no distribution line. If stores want to sell the legendary ice cream they need to come pick it up themselves. But every now and again stores will go to great lengths to get it. A Korean USU student named Duk-Man Lee first thought of the idea of selling Aggie ice cream in Korea. He assembled a group of Korean businessmen who came to Logan and proposed the idea to the university. In June 2000 the first international Aggie ice cream store was opened in Seoul, South Korea. They did, however, request for two new flavors, although popular in Korea, which might not be the most delicious idea to USU students: red kidney bean and green tea. Development has never stopped. New flavors are always being developed through the Dairy Product Lab and with help from the community. Recently, Edith Bowen Elementary School classes were recruited to come up with a new Aggie ice cream flavor. The students came up with ideas, took surveys and conducted taste test panels. As a result, two new flavors were developed: S'Mores and Jam'n Peanut Butter Boogie. These flavors are now regularly made and sold at USU. Aggie ice cream is a tasty tradition that will always give students, Cache Valley residents and people from all over the world something to crave and smile about.
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