Cows is a Canadian

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

manufacturer and chain of

ice cream parlors Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally occu ...

based in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. Cows was founded in

Cavendish, Prince Edward Island Cavendish is an unincorporated rural community in the township of Lot 23, Prince Edward Island, Lot 23, Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The community's primary industries are tourism and agricul ...

in 1983, and has since expanded into

cheddar cheese Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. It originates from the English village of Cheddar, Somerset, Cheddar in ...

, and cow-themed merchandise. Cows was named "Canada's best ice cream" in a survey of readers of ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' and named one of the world's top 10 places to get ice cream by Tauck World Discovery.

History

The first Cows opened in

in 1983. In 2006, Cows began producing cheese, including their principal product, Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar. Cows was voted as "Canada's best ice cream" in a

opinion poll, and in 2008 was listed as number 1 in the "World's Top Ten Places for Ice Cream" by Tauck World Discovery. Cows has 13 stores located across Canada (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, Québec and Ontario). The original "Cows T-shirt" design was created by a PEI graphic artist Marc Gallant in 1987. He went on creating several "whimsical cow themed designs" for 7 years until his death in 1994. Shortly after, Cows President Scott Linkletter hired Graphic Designer Shawn Mader to continue the line. From 1994 to present day, Shawn has created over 150 unique Cow designs, adorning everything from the Cows classic 100% cotton T-shirt to calendars, mugs, pens, etc. In 2007, Cows announced that they would be building a new corporate office in Charlottetown, paid for by a loan from the

government of Prince Edward Island The Government of Prince Edward Island is the provincial government of the province of Prince Edward Island. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" referred broadly to th ...

. The new Cows facility would be modeled after the Vermont-based

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

headquarters, and would serve as both a centralized production facility for all Cows ice cream and shirts. The new headquarters will also act as a tourist attraction where visitors can watch the ice cream and clothing being produced. In 2008, the plan for the facility had grown to ; the design integrated a production area for cheese.

Products

Cheese

In 2006, Cows expanded their brand to include cheddar cheese. The expansion came after Cows owner Scott Linkletter took a trip to the

Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...

in Northern

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Linkletter was taken by the local cheese and partnered with a local cheese maker who would give him the recipe which would in turn be the foundation for Cows "signature cheese", Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar. While developing the recipe for Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Linkletter and Prince Edward Island cheese maker Armand Bernard created a second cheese, PEI Cheddar. The company makes Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar in

wheels A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axl ...

, and ages it for 12 months. Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar gets the "clothbound" name from the "traditional cheddar-making technique", of wrapping it in cheese cloth, a method that originated in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England (the town of

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada and Kannada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar ...

, where Cheddar cheese gets its name from is in the county of Somerset). The name Avonlea comes from link between Prince Edward Island and

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

. Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar won its category's second prize at the 2008 Chicago conference of the American Cheese Society.

Ice cream

Cows produce over 32 varieties of ice cream, with flavors such as "Gooey Mooey" and "Wowie Cowie".

References

External links