Artisan Cheese Hello, my name is Katie Burke and I am the Green County Dairy Princess.
One of my many duties as Green County Dairy Princess was to stop at all our local cheese factories and pick up some Green County gold. Along the way I learned a little about artisan cheese.
We all know Wisconsin is ranked number one in cheesemaking, but did you know that 20 percent of Wisconsin cheese is artisan cheese (specialty cheeses)?
Wisconsin is the only state that requires cheesemakers to be licensed and is the only state to have a master cheesemakers. With 126 cheese plants in Wisconsin, 92 of them make Artisan cheese. In Green County alone there are 13 cheesemaking factories. The state's 1,200 cheesemakers produce more than 600 different kinds of cheese.
One type of cheese that may be unfamiliar to some is artisan cheese. The word "artisan" or "artisanal" implies that a cheese is produced primarily by hand, in small batches, with particular attention paid to the tradition of the cheesemaker's art, and thus using as little mechanization as possible in the production of the cheese. Artisan, or artisanal, cheeses may be made from all types of milk and on Nov. 5-7 the second annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival will take place at Monona Terrace, Madison. This event celebrates the state's growing number of dairy artisans and American Original cheeses.
There will be day tours, tasting artisan cheese, and dining with some of the local Green County Master Cheesemakers that are taking part at the festival. You will also have the opportunity of attending seminars and purchasing some of Wisconsin Artisan cheese. For more information and to pre-purchase your tickets visit www.wicheesefest.com. If you can't make it to the festival stop by one of our local artisan cheese factories, Chalet Cheese Cooperative, Decatur Dairy, Edelweiss Creamery, Klondike Cheese Company, Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative, Roth Kase, and Silver Lewis Cheese Co-op.
Some artisan cheeses that are produced from local Green County Cheese factories are GrandCru, Buttermilk Blue, Vintage Van Gogh, GranQueso, German Brick, rBST-free cheese, Natural Smoked Swiss, Grass Fed Cheddar, Gouda, Colby, Swiss, English Hollow and Mediterranean, Tomato Basil and Peppercorn Feta. Plan to stop at your local cheese factory or look in our local grocery stores for some artisan cheese.
If you're looking for Feta cheese, our local Feta cheese comes from Klondike Cheese Factory in Monroe and is sold under the name Odyssey. I feel lucky that I have met many of our master cheesemakers while putting together a cheesemaker's brochure and calendar. Each queen was in charge of interviewing the cheesemaker at one of the 13 cheese factories in Green County and this information will be placed in the brochure. The calendar features the queens and cheesemakers/masters at the different cheese factories. In one of the photos, I held the piece of Emmentaler from Edelweiss Creamery which was flown out to Seattle, Wash. to be judged at the American Cheese Society Completion.
Green County cheesemakers swept the completion receiving many blue ribbons. Blue ribbons cheeses from Green County were Grass Fed Gouda, Brick, Reduced Fat Feta. We would like to thank the cheesemakers for their support for this project. Also if you are looking to purchase a cheesemakers calendar they will be for sale at the World Dairy Expo at the Ag Chest trailer and at the Chili Cook-Off on the Square.
Green County is known for their great cheeses and we should be very proud of all the cheesemakers and all their accomplishments.
One of my many duties as Green County Dairy Princess was to stop at all our local cheese factories and pick up some Green County gold. Along the way I learned a little about artisan cheese.
We all know Wisconsin is ranked number one in cheesemaking, but did you know that 20 percent of Wisconsin cheese is artisan cheese (specialty cheeses)?
Wisconsin is the only state that requires cheesemakers to be licensed and is the only state to have a master cheesemakers. With 126 cheese plants in Wisconsin, 92 of them make Artisan cheese. In Green County alone there are 13 cheesemaking factories. The state's 1,200 cheesemakers produce more than 600 different kinds of cheese.
One type of cheese that may be unfamiliar to some is artisan cheese. The word "artisan" or "artisanal" implies that a cheese is produced primarily by hand, in small batches, with particular attention paid to the tradition of the cheesemaker's art, and thus using as little mechanization as possible in the production of the cheese. Artisan, or artisanal, cheeses may be made from all types of milk and on Nov. 5-7 the second annual Wisconsin Original Cheese Festival will take place at Monona Terrace, Madison. This event celebrates the state's growing number of dairy artisans and American Original cheeses.
There will be day tours, tasting artisan cheese, and dining with some of the local Green County Master Cheesemakers that are taking part at the festival. You will also have the opportunity of attending seminars and purchasing some of Wisconsin Artisan cheese. For more information and to pre-purchase your tickets visit www.wicheesefest.com. If you can't make it to the festival stop by one of our local artisan cheese factories, Chalet Cheese Cooperative, Decatur Dairy, Edelweiss Creamery, Klondike Cheese Company, Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative, Roth Kase, and Silver Lewis Cheese Co-op.
Some artisan cheeses that are produced from local Green County Cheese factories are GrandCru, Buttermilk Blue, Vintage Van Gogh, GranQueso, German Brick, rBST-free cheese, Natural Smoked Swiss, Grass Fed Cheddar, Gouda, Colby, Swiss, English Hollow and Mediterranean, Tomato Basil and Peppercorn Feta. Plan to stop at your local cheese factory or look in our local grocery stores for some artisan cheese.
If you're looking for Feta cheese, our local Feta cheese comes from Klondike Cheese Factory in Monroe and is sold under the name Odyssey. I feel lucky that I have met many of our master cheesemakers while putting together a cheesemaker's brochure and calendar. Each queen was in charge of interviewing the cheesemaker at one of the 13 cheese factories in Green County and this information will be placed in the brochure. The calendar features the queens and cheesemakers/masters at the different cheese factories. In one of the photos, I held the piece of Emmentaler from Edelweiss Creamery which was flown out to Seattle, Wash. to be judged at the American Cheese Society Completion.
Green County cheesemakers swept the completion receiving many blue ribbons. Blue ribbons cheeses from Green County were Grass Fed Gouda, Brick, Reduced Fat Feta. We would like to thank the cheesemakers for their support for this project. Also if you are looking to purchase a cheesemakers calendar they will be for sale at the World Dairy Expo at the Ag Chest trailer and at the Chili Cook-Off on the Square.
Green County is known for their great cheeses and we should be very proud of all the cheesemakers and all their accomplishments.
