Four Great Food-Factory Tours

Then it's on to a history of Scharffen Berger itself and a tasting of its chocolates such as the 41% milk almond bar with sea-salted almonds and the 82% cacao extra dark bar. The second part of your visit is a walk through the factory where the chocolate is actually made. Be sure to wear closed toe shoes for safety reasons, and go on a weekday if you want to see the machines operating.

End your trip with a stop at Café Cacao, a restaurant located in the factory, to indulge in sweets such as chocolate-layered cake filled with whipped chocolate ganache and topped with a bittersweet chocolate glaze.

Public tours are free and run every day from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and must be reserved ahead of time. Private tours can be arranged ahead of time for $35 a person. Visit the Web site for more information.

Ben and Jerry's -- Waterbury, Vt.

The guided tour at Ben & Jerry's begins with a movie. You'll learn how two childhood friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, took a $5 course on making ice cream and turned it into one of the country's most famous names.

Continue on with a walk through the factory's mezzanine level where you'll watch flavors such as Phish Food, Chunky Monkey, Chocolate Heath Bar Crunch and Cherry Garcia being made with fresh cream, sugar, eggs, chocolate and other tasty ingredients. The guide thoroughly explains the steps of ice-cream making and packaging.

« First ‹ Previous 1 2 3 Next › Last »