A Cheese-Lover's Guide to the Midwest

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A Cheese-Lover's Guide to the Midwest - by Jennifer Billock/ Travel/ SmithsonianMag.com

"As anyone who's tasted the delightful sweetness of a Wisconsin cheddar or the creamy, smooth finish of a goat cheese from Minnesota can attest: The Midwest is a cheese powerhouse. The area churns out delicious curds and whey made from exceptional ingredients in an area with the largest concentration of creameries in the country—Wisconsin alone has 129 cheesemaking plants, surpassing every state and producing more than 600 types of cheese.

Now, an annual cheese festival dedicated to sampling and buying small-batch, artisan cheeses made specifically in the Midwest celebrates that cheesy legacy. Cheesetopia is in its second year—the first was in Milwaukee and this year’s is in Chicago on April 10—and brings together around 40 cheesemakers. Attendees can sample more than 200 specialty cheeses that usually aren’t available in stores. It's pure cheese heaven, Midwest style.

Jeanne Carpenter, Cheesetopia’s founder, requires that the actual cheesemaker come to the show and exhibit the cheese. The reason behind the rule is simple, she tells Smithsonian.com: People want to meet the people who make their food. For some, meeting the person who makes their favorite cheese is like a brush with celebrity. Carpenter has seen people almost start to cry when they're introduced to the farmer behind their favorite variety. “It’s like meeting a rock star,” she says...."

(Adapted from a photo:Floortje/iStock)


Richard

 

[dioxide45]

I love just about any kind of cheese. I am going to try making my own blue cheese dressing this weekend with some fresh blue cheese, even using my own home made creme fraiche to make it.

 

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I love just about any kind of cheese. I am going to try making my own blue cheese dressing this weekend with some fresh blue cheese, even using my own home made creme fraiche to make it.

Good luck on your cheese project.

Let us know how it turns out.

Richard

 

[noson7982]

Finger Lakes Cheese Trail

When I do the Wine Trail around the Finger Lakes region of New York I always stop at the Artisan Cheese Makers.
http://www.flcheesetrail.com/

 

[Armada]

Sold Out :annoyed:

Of course, Maytag won't be represented. They make an awesome Blue.

 

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The U.S. Has a Massive Cheese Surplus - by Erin Blakemore/ SmartNews:Keeping You Current/ SmithsonianMag.com

"First, it happened with coffee—as the world stockpiled more and more java, prices fell and caffeine fiends found it easier to get their favorite fix. But now, addicts of another stripe are getting their day in the sun. In what could be the dream news of every dairy-loving foodie, Bloomberg’s Whitney McFerron reports that the United States has stockpiled an enormous surplus of cheese.

Global forces like rising European exports, rising American dairy production, a weakening euro, and “a glut of milk” have led the U.S. to stockpile cheese, McFerron writes.

In its dairy market report for the week of April 25 to 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture writes that “cheese vats across the country remain full in efforts to manage the plentiful milk supply….As stocks build, storage availability is becoming a concern.” Phrases like “milk oversupply” and “substantial rises” are rife in the report, which notes that the United States has a total of 725.7 million pounds of “natural American cheese”—real cheese, not the processed cheese product, made in the U.S.A.—and total natural cheese stocks of a whopping 1.191 billion pounds...."

Don't worry...there's more than enough cheese to go around. (Nickas Morberg (Flickr/Creative Commons))



Richard

 

[Timeshare Von]

Anyone coming to Wisconsin and would like some local cheese factory recommendations, I'd be happy to provide a few . . .

Theresa, WI (about an hour north of Milwaukee) - Widmer's Cheese (Get there early to watch them make the cheese. Good cheddar, sometimes the shop staff act inconvenienced when tourists stop in to shop.)
Milwaukee - Clock Tower Cheese (Nice little factory in the city, decent shopping options)
Decatur, WI (about 100 miles SW of Milwaukee near Monroe) - Decatur Dairy (My all-time favorite! Highly recommended factory tour. Try their award winning baby swiss, it is great on sandwiches.)
Cambria, WI (about 50 miles NE of Madison) - Salemville Amish Coop (GREAT shop with their popular Blue Cheese but no factory tours or viewing area.)
Augusta, WI (up north of Eau Claire) - Gingerbread Jersey Cheese (Small viewing platform and decent shop

There are others that I've been to as well . . . just not coming up with names at 7am. LOL