Cheese

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Rogue Creamery is an organic artisan cheesemaker from Central Point, Ore., that specializes in producing blue cheese, cheddars and more. Websterville, Vt.-based Vermont Creamery is an artisan cheese company that specializes in fresh and aged goat cheeses, and fresh cow cheeses.

Specialty cheese sales are on the rise, noted Rachel Kerr, director of events and public relations for Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), Madison.

Horizon Organic, a brand of DanoneWave, Broomfield, Colo., launched of a new line of snacking products. Good & Go snack packs feature cheese paired with nuts, dried fruit or pretzels and are packaged in convenient 1.26-ounce packages.

Rojo’s, Buena Park, Calif., expanded its portfolio with a new line of Queso dips. The dips come in two varieties: Salsa Con Queso — sour cream, creamy cotija and cream cheese, mixed with fresh tomatoes, onions and jalapeno peppers; and Queso Blanco — Monterey Jack and cotija cheeses combined with green chiles and jalapenos.

In 2014, Murray’s Cheese in New York City had an idea for a clothbound Cheddar modeled on classic British versions. And this year, after two years of development, the company launched Murray’s Clothbound Cheddar   –  a bright, lemony flavored Cheddar.

Making cheese predates recorded history, but artisan cheesemaking in the U.S. is a relatively new industry. According to a 2016 American Cheese Society (ACS) report, there are more than 900 artisan, farmstead and specialty cheesemakers operating in the United States. While a few artisan cheesemakers have been in business for over 100 years, the average has been making cheese for only 15 years.

In northwest Wisconsin, about 25 miles from the Minnesota border, Schuman Cheese makes award-winning cheeses with techniques borrowed from French and Italian cheesemakers.

Neal Schuman is perhaps the most ardent defender of Parmesan cheese in the United States. Incensed that some cheesemakers were adulterating grated Parm with cellulose, Schuman organized the True Cheese campaign, warning consumers and retailers that all was not right in shelf-stable grated Parmesan products.

Hispanic cuisine makes up a large portion of the food market in the United States, and the demand of Hispanic-style cheeses has been rising over the past two decades.