True Blue Aggie Cheese
By: Brittny Goodsell Jones
Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: Features
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Old Ephraim isn't just a legendary grizzly.
Now, a smoky-flavored cheese holds the Old Ephraim name. This cheese is sold in the same place on campus as Aggie Ice Cream. And right next to Old Ephraim is Crimson Trail, Old Juniper and Aggiano cheese.
"We wanted to pick names that say Cache Valley," Donald McMahon, dairy food professor, said.
The names, however, aren't the only creative things. During the Christmas holiday, Lisa Clawson, sophomore in culinary arts, said the shapes can also get unusual.
"We take some blocks of cheddar cheese and shape them into a Utah that is blue," Clawson, sales coordinator, said.
A dairy plant located in the Food and Science building on USU campus is where different True Blue Aggie Cheese flavors are made. Every day, a team of researchers help to create, produce and perfect new cheese recipes and tastes for the community to enjoy. Old Ephraim, which McMahon said goes well on hamburgers, is one of the recipes particular to USU.
"The challenge is to make the product consistent so it always has the characteristics you want," he said.
To teach USU students and the Cache Valley community about how cheese is made, McMahon said a cheese tour has been created which involves a short film. Students can even taste samples of particular types of cheese afterwards.
Part of the Cache Valley Food Tour, this True Blue Aggie Cheese Tour is a way to show people how much work goes into creating a relatively small-sized product.
And since it typically takes five hours to make a vat of cheese, McMahon said the seven-minute movie shown helps speed up the process.
"You can see more in the movie than in the actual day," McMahon said.
With almost a dozen different kinds of cheese, McMahon said a lot of organization goes into cheese production to produce a good product, specifically understanding the process of cheese aging.
Now, a smoky-flavored cheese holds the Old Ephraim name. This cheese is sold in the same place on campus as Aggie Ice Cream. And right next to Old Ephraim is Crimson Trail, Old Juniper and Aggiano cheese.
"We wanted to pick names that say Cache Valley," Donald McMahon, dairy food professor, said.
The names, however, aren't the only creative things. During the Christmas holiday, Lisa Clawson, sophomore in culinary arts, said the shapes can also get unusual.
"We take some blocks of cheddar cheese and shape them into a Utah that is blue," Clawson, sales coordinator, said.
A dairy plant located in the Food and Science building on USU campus is where different True Blue Aggie Cheese flavors are made. Every day, a team of researchers help to create, produce and perfect new cheese recipes and tastes for the community to enjoy. Old Ephraim, which McMahon said goes well on hamburgers, is one of the recipes particular to USU.
"The challenge is to make the product consistent so it always has the characteristics you want," he said.
To teach USU students and the Cache Valley community about how cheese is made, McMahon said a cheese tour has been created which involves a short film. Students can even taste samples of particular types of cheese afterwards.
Part of the Cache Valley Food Tour, this True Blue Aggie Cheese Tour is a way to show people how much work goes into creating a relatively small-sized product.
And since it typically takes five hours to make a vat of cheese, McMahon said the seven-minute movie shown helps speed up the process.
"You can see more in the movie than in the actual day," McMahon said.
With almost a dozen different kinds of cheese, McMahon said a lot of organization goes into cheese production to produce a good product, specifically understanding the process of cheese aging.
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