I have always liked cheese, but there is a big difference between liking and loving something. Today, I want you to give you a glimpse into my transformative experience that caused me to take that leap from using one L word – like – to the next – love – to describe my disposition toward cheese.
I can pinpoint the change in my attitude to the day, time and cheese (Yep, I know– pretty silly). It occurred on July 24th, 2010 at about 4:47pm in La Farge, WI. I had been working with Mark Knoebl from Sand Creek Brewing Company and Jeanne Carpenter from Wisconsin Cheese Originals on developing and putting on a Beer, Cheese and Chocolate Pairing at the 7th Annual Kickapoo Country Fair and on this late July Saturday, it was time for the show to go on. Mark and Jeanne had picked out all the cheeses for the pairing and I hadn’t tried any of them (I was there to organize setup and execution of the pairing). Our second beer and cheese pairing- Sand Creek English Style Special Ale with Carr Valley Apple Smoked Cheddar- is what did it. It made me fall in love with cheese. Carr Valley’s Apple Smoked Cheddar is a white cheddar produced in 12 pound wheels. Each wheel is smoked with apple wood and rubbed with paprika. The paprika balances perfectly with the smokiness of the cheese. So delicious. My mouth is watering just writing about it. Anyhow, back to the story about falling in love with cheese… On this day I had Carr Valley’s Apple Smoked Cheddar for the first time. About a week after the pairing, Jeanne wrote on her blog, Cheese Underground, about her experiences at the pairing. In her description of the Carr Valley Apple Smoked Cheddar, she said, “Carr Valley's Applewood Smoked Cheddar, one of those cheeses that I consider to be a gateway drug of specialty cheeses. You take one bite and you can't stop eating.” I couldn't agree more. I took one bite on this fateful day and couldn’t stop eating. I was hooked on cheese – well, let me clarify, not just any old cheese, cheese that is made by artisans, cheese that is made in small batches, cheese that is made by hand, cheese that is of a place, cheese that reflects the milk that is made from, cheese that is art.
The rest is history. I have been on a journey since then to learn more about the cheese makers around me and have been supporting them through the purchase and consumption of their delicious dairy products.
When Heidi and started planning a bike tour of SW Wisconsin this past spring, it was natural for me to want to include a number of stops at Wisconsin creameries. I wanted to continue my education about the cheeses of Wisconsin and, more importantly, those creameries that were close by my home of Viroqua, WI.
In the next week, I will write a blog entry about each Wisconsin cheese we had on the Wisconsin Barns, Breweries and Cheese Bike Tour. It should give you a quick view of the amazing cheeses that are produced by Wisconsin artisan cheese makers and, hopefully, help you understand how ridiculously privileged we are to have so many of them in the wonderful state of Wisconsin.
In the mean time, go out and purchase some Carr Valley Apple Smoked Cheddar. Your taste buds won’t regret it.
Cheers to Wisconsin Artisan Cheese,
Bjorn
PS If you haven’t checked out Jeanne Carpenter’s blog: Cheese Underground yet, you should. It covers the wonderful world of Wisconsin Artisan Cheese. It is always part of my weekly blog reading and, more importantly, lets me know where and when I can find and sample the newest Wisconsin artisan cheeses.
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