Last updated on September 30th, 2015 at 04:10 pm
Both Oakhurst Dairy and Gifford’s Ice Cream, both of Maine, won some major awards at the World Dairy Expo held in Madison, Wisconsin, Sept. 29.
Oakhurst’s Fresh Heavy Cream beat out 32 entries from across the country to win first prize at the expo’s Championship Dairy Product Contest. The win marks the second year that Oakhurst has been honored by the World Dairy Expo. Last year, Oakhurst’s Fat Free Chocolate Milk received first place in its category.
“Maine has a long tradition of exceptional cheese, ice creams and dairy products,” said Bradley Legreid, executive director of the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association. “Oakhurst’s first-place finishes the past two years reflects the quality of their dairy products.”
The Wisconsin Dairy Products Association sponsors the annual competition, which features 69 categories for cheese and Grade A dairy product classes. There were 1,145 total entries for this year’s contest and more than 40 judges. Each whipping cream entry was judged on flavor, bacteria, sediment and container appearance. Judging took place on Aug. 19.
James Lesser, VP of marketing and sales at Oakhurst Dairy, said, “Our farmers and our employees deserve the credit for this honor—they get up every day, head to the barn or to our facilities to make and deliver the best dairy products imaginable. This award would not be possible without them.”
Gifford’s Old Fashioned Vanilla and Vanilla Bean flavors took first place in their respective categories. Gifford’s Old Fashioned Vanilla is available in grocery stores from Maine to Maryland, and Vanilla Bean is one of the company’s wholesale flavor offerings for restaurants, colleges and universities. Both flavors are the base for many of Gifford’s unique flavors.
“Gifford’s has done extremely well for many years in our World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest,” said Legreid, “In fact, their World’s Best Chocolate has been selected as the grand champion in five of the past six years, and they have received numerous first-place awards over the years. This success speaks to the quality of the ice cream that Gifford’s makes.”
