The Midwest’s milky way
Wisconsin’s cheese country is the “dairy equivalent” of California’s Napa Valley, said M.L. Johnson in the Chicago Tribune. The state produces more than 600 cheeses, and now “it’s possible, even pleasurable, to eat one’s way through Wisconsin.” Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, about an hour north of Milwaukee, is a good place to start. The family-owned business is one of the last cheesemakers that still uses glazed bricks to compress the curds for brick cheese. Tour the grounds before heading to Beechwood Cheese Co., famous for such creations as Chicken Soup Cheese—a “Monterey Jack tinged with celery, chicken broth powder, and some secret ingredients.” In Monroe, just south of Madison, sample the only Limburger made in the United States, at the Chalet Cheese Cooperative. And if you haven’t eaten your fill, cheesemaker Steve Shapson teaches weekend workshops all around Wisconsin, at which cheese lovers can learn to make their own ricotta, chèvre, and Camembert.
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