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Velvet Ice Cream Opens Expansion Project

Velvet Ice Cream has just opened the largest expansion capital improvement in the company’s storied 102-year history. Velvet broke ground on a new 23,000-square-foot expansion, with price tag of more than $3 million, last August. The expansion added a new state-of-the-art warehouse freezer distribution facility to Velvet Ice Cream’s central Ohio plant at Ye Olde Mill in Utica, more than doubling the company’s freezing and picking capacity. On the heels of significant expansion into the Kentucky and other markets, demand for Velvet Ice Cream has grown, taking the company from $25 million in revenue in 2009 to more than $30 million in 2014. As a result, last summer, Velvet was nearly at capacity with its former distribution facility.

“Our expansion allows us to improve sustainability, sharpen efficiencies and produce more delicious Velvet Ice Cream in order to meet increased demand,” said Velvet Ice Cream President Luconda Dager. “But it also positions us well for future growth and expansion.”

Dager helped the more than 100 attendees at the expansion ribbon cutting to better understand the project’s size, sharing the following details on the new facility:

  • The new freezer distribution addition keeps Velvet Ice Cream at 20 degrees below zero
  • It holds 3,200,000 cartons of Velvet Ice Cream
  • That would fill 80 tractor trailers with Velvet product
  • That’s equal to 1,920 pallets
  • The Velvet Freezer team walks a quarter of a mile for every order they pick
  • In one year of work, that’s like walking from Utica to Las Vegas and back

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Velvet Ice Cream worked with the Licking County, Ohio firm Robertson Construction as general contractor for the project, which took 14 months to complete. Currently employing a staff of 125, Velvet’s new distribution facility initially will require the addition of eight new employees in its picking and shipping operations. However, the development enables the company further to expand production as new accounts are acquired, which is expected to increase future employment. The project also uses the latest green technology, minimizing the company’s environmental footprint via environmentally friendly design, motion-controlled energy efficient lighting, state-of-the-art insulating panels and high-speed automated doors.

Dager added that thanks to the support of tax abatement from North Fork Local School District and Velvet’s partners at People’s Bank and Freije-RSC Engineered Solutions Company, the expansion makes it possible for the company to not only continue serving existing customers, but also enter new markets and forge new partnerships, like those Velvet already has with major retailers and other food service partners.

This year, Velvet Ice Cream celebrates 102 years of making ice cream in Ohio. Founded in 1914 by Joseph Dager, four generations of Dager family have since run the company. Still family-owned and operated, Velvet produces and distributes more than 5 million gallons of ice cream every year from its headquarters on the grounds of Ye Olde Mill. Ye Olde Mill also houses an ice cream and milling museum, a restaurant, playground, picnic area and catch-and-release fish pond.

Named by Frommer’s as one of America’s 10 Best Ice Cream Factory Tours, Velvet’s Ye Olde Mill welcomes 150,000 visitors each year for tours, tastings and events. The annual Ice Cream Festival, group tour experiences and school learning field trips are among the many draws to Ye Olde Mill, which is open to the public April 20-October 31. Complete information about Velvet Ice Cream and Ye Olde Mill is available www.VelvetIceCream.com on Twitter at @VelvetIceCream or Facebook.com/VelvetIceCream.

Bellwether Farms’ Blackstone Impresses at ACS

By Lorrie Baumann

Liam Callahan at the American Cheese Society Judging

Liam Callahan at the American Cheese Society Judging

Bellwether Farms‘ Blackstone was released to the market in small quantities just this January, and the cheese already has a growing fan base. Blackstone placed first in its category for mixed milk cheeses with flavor added during this year’s American Cheese Society Judging and Competition. It’s made from two-thirds Jersey cow milk and one-third sheep milk, with black peppercorns incorporated into the paste and a hand-rubbed black rind that combines rosemary and black pepper with vegetable ash.

The three-pound wheel has the elegant eminence of Patrick Stewart declaiming Shakespeare. When it’s cut, slices from the wedge have a thin black border that lends a satisfying weight to even the thinnest of slices and a color contrast that adds beauty to their arrangement on the cheese board.

Blackstone’s flavor is strongly influenced by the tang of the sheep milk – think Manchego – with extra zing and texture from the peppercorns along with caramel notes and a rich and satisfying mouthfeel that come from the Jersey milk. It pairs beautifully with a wide range of beers, and the peppery/herbal notes make a nice complement to a pinot noir or Syrah.

Penis pumps are other quick amerikabulteni.com online order viagra fixes that people resort to, to enjoy extended pleasure in bed. This medication ought to be http://amerikabulteni.com/2015/04/30/cayhane-kahve-siparis-eden-obamanin-istegini-reddeti/ viagra ordination brought just with plain water just and that’s it. Also beneficial for the suppliers has been the growing order viagra professional http://amerikabulteni.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-the-link-between-androids-and-humans/ number of patients who are complaining about impotence. The success rate and clinical efficacy of this medicine is 96%, so many men opt for this medicine to manage their sexual disorder. cheapest cialis in australia BlackstoneThe black rind was part of cheesemaker Liam Callahan’s original inspiration for the cheese, he said. “There aren’t that many aged cheeses that have a rind that actively contributes interesting flavor notes to it. It’s more common for washed-rind cheeses, but with aged cheeses, it’s just protecting it from the environment,” he said. “For this cheese, the rind is more than something to nibble up to and throw away, more than a board-flavored musty component. The rosemary doesn’t taste of rosemary, but it helps give a savory element to the rind. Plus, it looks cool. As soon as you put it out there, people say ‘What’s that?’ They are drawn to the look of the cheese.”

The vegetable ash/rosemary/black pepper mixture is hand-rubbed onto the cheese in several stages as it ages over about 10 weeks. The ash helps control the acidity at the cheese’s surface, but it also melds together the different particle sizes of the rosemary and black pepper, Callahan said. “The very powdery vegetable ash just helped to hold it all together.”

Blackstone starts its aging on wood shelves, and then it’s moved to wire shelves and then back to the boards, with the transitions timed to respond to the moisture levels at the rind. “We’re still playing with the timing of those transitions to get the right moisture on that rind at the key moments when it needs it,” Callahan said.

Distribution for the cheese is still ramping up, and it’s currently available almost exclusively in California, where it’s selling readily for prices between $25 and $30 per pound. “It’s a difficult cheese to make, and at retail, it’s an expensive cheese that demands the right attention to it,” he said. “But restaurants love to feature something that’s so visual on the cheese board.”

“I never make more than about 120 wheels at a time. All of our vats are small, and it’s hands-on,” he added. “It’s been figuring out how to ramp up production in a way that maintains the quality and consistency. It’s really been a fun cheese to work on.”
Callahan expects Blackstone to reach a wider audience once more people have had the opportunity to taste it and as his production increases. “We are actively talking about it now, and samples are getting out there, and people are hearing from folks – they’re really liking it so much,” he said. “We really do expect this to be a major cheese for us. It’s so good, and we like it so much, and it’s unique in the marketplace.”

Cypress Grove Drops Its Chevre

Cypress Grove, the artisan goat cheese company known best for its flagship cheese, Humboldt Fog, says “out with the old and in with the new” as it refreshes, revitalizes and renews its brand.  The award-winning goat cheese company has dropped the “chevre” from its name to embrace its all-American background as well as opted for new labels, which provide a more comprehensive look and feel for each of its cheeses and convey a sense of Cypress Grove’s rich 30+-year history.

Cypress Grove was founded in 1983 by Mary Keehn, a self-proclaimed hippie, in an effort to provide wholesome nourishment for her children. She asked her neighbor if she could buy two goats for milk and the neighbor replied with a grin, “Honey, if you can catch ‘em, you can have ‘em.” So a determined Mary went out with grain each day and eventually lured two goats to her property and began making cheese with the excess milk. After travelling to France to taste, test and learn, she dreamed up the idea for Cypress Grove’s first iconic cheese, Humboldt Fog, while asleep on the long overseas flight home. The rest, as they say, is history. The brand has grown tremendously under the direction of Cypress Grove President Pamela Dressler, and has won more than 100 cheese awards both nationally and internationally. Each of Cypress Grove’s 14 fine cheeses bestow playful names, all with their own story, including: Truffle Tremor®, Humboldt Fog®, Bermuda Triangle®, Lamb Chopper®, Midnight Moon®, PsycheDillic®, Sgt Pepper®, Ms. Natural®, Herbs de Humboldt® and Purple Haze®.

One of the key changes to come out of this brand refresh was the removal of the French word “chevre” from the company’s name. Dressler said, “We can’t wait to launch the new designs and introduce our new look to consumers.” The company will remain true to its American roots and Dressler elaborated, “We place incredible importance on maintaining the same standards and values that we always have—now we just have a fresh aesthetic to showcase them.” The new, streamlined look will increase brand awareness and help customers discover each and every tasty flavor, reminding consumers of Cypress Grove’s many cheese varietals beyond the crowd favorite and Original American Original™, Humboldt Fog.
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The revamped look also represents Cypress Grove’s commitment to the growing goat cheese industry in America and proves that cheese does not have to be complicated to be memorable and delicious. The artisan cheese company built a state-of-the-art, technologically-advanced goat dairy to mentor other commercial goat dairies and teach them about the connection between herd health, high-yielding animals and high-quality milk. To Cypress Grove’s knowledge, on average its goats produce more goat milk per head than any other commercial dairy in the United States.

Starting October 1, all cheese retailers and distributors will begin to debut the new Cypress Grove branding, and consumers will find the new look in local grocery chains and stores nationwide. For more information, check out the new designs by visiting cypressgrovecheese.com, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.