Dozens of people gathered around a large rectangular window at Oregon State University on a hot July day. Through the glass, they could see some of the passion put into a popular summer treat.
Food Science students and their mentors make the ice cream and craft the flavors at Oregon State University’s Beaver Classic Creamery.
Among them is Molly Hagen, a fourth-year student working this summer at the creamery. On Tuesday, she was experimenting with a new s’mores flavor, mixing graham crackers and chocolate into a marshmallow base.
“There’s more that we’re playing with,” Hagen said. “It’s kind of brand new, so I feel like I’m sort of inventing here.”
That’s the core idea of the campus creamery. Not only does it provide a sweet treat for the community, it gives the students the opportunities to sharpen their dairy skills before entering the professional field.
Hagen works with Brandon Riesgaard, a mentor to the students who applauds creative freedom. Students craft new seasonal flavors inside the Tillamook Dairy Innovators Lab behind the storefront. Tillamook has provided some funds for the creamery.
“They want to see the students have a little better education,” said Riesgaard, the manager of the dairy pilot plant, where others, including industry professionals, can produce and test their own dairy products.
Riesgaard was a student at Withycombe Hall when the creamery was a theater. But there was a three-year renovation turning the building into an agricultural science hub, including the recently established creamery. After graduating, Riesgaard worked in the industry, making blue cheese for Rogue Creamery in Central Point.
“One of my main focuses is to have the students leave here with as much knowledge as possible,” Riesgaard said, “and be as ready as possible to step into a position at Tillamook.”
In the future, Riesgaard said he hopes to source the creamery’s milk from the Oregon State Dairy Research Center, located less than a mile away.
At the farm, roughly 100 cows get milked twice a day by working, trained students. About 15 work at a time, preparing for a field that needs more herders and farm managers.
“The students handle all of the day-to-day stuff,” said Larissa Lewis, the farm manager. “That’s milking, feeding, animal checks and cleaning.”
The milk is pumped from the cows, then run through sterilized pipes to a cooling tank, where it is stored around 36 degrees.
Riesgaard said up to 300 gallons of milk can be hauled from the barn to the creamery, where it would be pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria, cooled and used to make ice cream.
For now, Riesgaard buys the ice cream base made of milk, cream and sugar from a local processor. Students add flavoring and freeze it. Then raw ingredients are hand mixed in the soft cream base.
Playing into college themes, students have created such classics as Sleep Deprived Student, a coffee-infused ice cream, and Beaver Bark, a bright orange, vanilla-chip flavor rooted in Oregon State colors.
Others have pitched new flavors. Students with the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center reached out and asked for an ube-lychee-calamansi flavor that sold well at events including a night market, Riesgaard said. Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy also requested a chai-flavored ice cream.
Riesgaard said he wants to incorporate add-ins and stripes to the ice cream and sell pints out of the storefront.
In addition, the creamery has been expanding its operation in hopes of selling cheese. Students like Hagen will be involved.
“I think we’re starting cheese soon,” she said, “so that’ll be kind of exciting.”
— Zoe Johnson, Lakeridge High School
— Rose Stone, Roosevelt High School