Alive and ever-changing, microbes are responsible for everything from the safety of cheese to its flavor development during ripening. In fact, microbes in the form of starter culture, or adjunct bacteria/fungi, are ultimately responsible for turning milk into an almost endless array of cheese varieties.
Dairy Foods spoke with two artisan cheese companies from opposite sides of the country about what’s trending in their category, what their most popular cheese flavors are and more.
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.
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.
Lake Country Dairy makes award-winning Italian-style and alpine cheeses. The plant supports four family dairy farms and spurred an investor to build a whey processing facility across the street.
In northwest Wisconsin, about 25 miles from the Minnesota border, Schuman Cheese makes award-winning cheeses with techniques borrowed from French and Italian cheesemakers.