Here comes the brie!

Cheese cake tiers offer a savory spin on the traditional wedding dessert.

A slice of brie.

Wedding season is upon us, and so is cake eating. But what if you’re gluten-free? Or sugar-free? Or not a fan of cake in general (suspiciously. . .)? Or what if you simply want to change things up? What if (last one) you love cheese?

At a wedding I attended recently, the bride and groom offered a cheese cake (not to be mistaken for a cheesecake) as a dessert option. They still had the traditional cake-cake (to avoid an uproar from sweet-toothed attendees, perhaps), but as an ode to their Wisconsin roots and love for the dairy food group, they also served a four-tier “cake” of cheddar, gouda, blue, and brie cheeses. How creative, I thought, and how brilliant — I spent more time at the cheese and fruit table than on the dance floor. 

What can’t dairy do?

Turns out the couple had composed their “cake” from a personal selection of local wheels, but a quick browse of cheesemakers’ websites from around the world reveals offerings of le gâteau du fromage in a variety of compilations. The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, New York City’s Murray’s, and the UK’s The Fine Cheese Co. and The Courtyard Dairy are just a small sampling of places that offer artisan cheese cakes. 

The towers include a carefully curated variety of artisanal cheeses from each specified cheesemaker. Usually, the cake is some combination of a soft cheese, a hard cheese, an aged cheese, and a mixed-milk cheese, or something of the like. The tiers are shipped to the buyer as separate pieces and can be assembled or decorated as desired with flowers, fruit, or other adornments.

Cheese cakes are not limited to weddings, of course. A curated tower could easily grace the menu of any event or gathering — small or large. Why not try for a savory dessert course next time you reach for the host or hostess cap? 

Or, if you aren’t feeling the wheel, visit www.hoardscreamery.com to peruse Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s portioned cheese selection. 

Launch the cheese!

A small town in Sicily takes its romano to the streets.

Novara di Sicilia, Italy

Turns out, Gloucestershire, England’s Cooper’s Hill cheese rolling race isn’t alone in its curation of cheese-related athletic events. The Lancio del Maiorchino in Novara di Sicilia, Italy, is an extravaganza all its own.

TraditionalSports.org published a breakdown of the game, detailing its tournament-length competition that takes place during the four weekends leading up to a “Maiorchino Festival.”

Using a shoemaker’s twine three meters in length called a “lazzada,” team members launch a wheel of local pecorino romano cheese along a historic route through the city streets, from “via Duomo to via Bellini” (the word “via” precedes street names in Italy), and ending at the “Don Michele” rock wall. The team that completes the course with the least number of throws wins the race. 

The month-long competition then culminates at the Maiorchino Festival, where the overall victor takes home a wheel of Maiorchino cheese, and community members partake in a town-wide tasting of local products. 

This tradition derives from the early 1600s, a time when cheesemakers rolled cheese wheels through the streets to control their maturing. According to Neal’s Yard Dairy, the practice of “rolling” cheese wheels — now referred to as “turning” — is meant to prevent the build-up of moisture. 

The Maiorchino pecorino wheels used in the competition have been aged for eight months and weigh between 10 to 18 kilograms, or 22 to 39 pounds. Unfortunately, due to the cheese’s complicated production technique and growing sanitary regulations for food production, the specialty Maiorchino cheese is increasingly difficult to source. 

Check out this reel for a closer look at the game, and satiate your own lancio del hunger with Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s selection of cheeses made from our pure Guernsey milk. 

Quiz time! Test your Guernsey cow knowledge

Guernseys were recognized as their own breed in ______.

A) 1892

B) 1649

C) 1980

D) 1700

(Scroll past the picture for the answer.)

If you guessed D) 1700, then you’re right! Guernsey cows were officially recognized as their own breed in 1700.

Wheel of For-Churn

The cheese wheel suits many-a-purposes, downhill racing chief among them, but where did the form come from, and why has it endured?

The annual Gloucestershire Cooper’s Hill cheese race highlights a unique perk of cheese’s iconic round mold: its rollability. 

But why is cheese round, anyway? It can’t just be because of rolling, right? 

Actually, yes (kind of). 

According to The Daily Meal, early cheese mongers began making cheese in wheel shapes because they were easier to transport. Instead of lugging heavy blocks to the market, they could roll their creations down the road.  (Perhaps this is where the idea for a cheese “race” comes from?)

What’s more, the round mold is sturdier for the holding together of curd over a long period of time, and it allows for even cultivation and mold growth across the cheese. In a form with corners, mold can collect in the straight edges, seeing to the early breakdown and spoilage of the cheese.

The shape, then, is both a transportation practicality and a biological necessity for success within the cheesemaking process. 

Still, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a wheel of cheese on display at a supermarket. Cheeses of modern-day American shopping are typically sold in small, packaged blocks. This is for ease of production and consumption — our stark lack of open-air cheese stands demands a lucrative alternative.

But are these plastic-wrapped blocks less authentic? More preserved? Not necessarily. 

At Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery, we don’t sell cheese by the wheel, but all of our cuts are just smaller versions of handmade wheels from cheesemakers in Wisconsin. 

Processed American cheese like that of Kraft is made using a wholly different process. It’s a separate class entirely; it’s not lesser, but it is different. Not all blocks are created equal. Check labeling to determine if the cheese you’re purchasing is artisan or mass produced. 

To check out Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s cheese varieties, visit www.hoardscreamery.com. 

“Say ... cheese?”

From a secret presidential endorsement to innate phonetic linguistics, the roots of this photographer’s phrase are as mysterious as they are practical.

It’s the 1940s, and you’re posing for a family portrait. 

You’re stylishly stoic, a poster child for Victorian class. You know the drill. 

Decades before, you’d sat with your mother and father for many minutes on a splendidly sunny Saturday afternoon to wait for the camera’s exposure to capture your statuesque moment in time. 

Settle in, you tell your restless children, this could take a while. 

Suddenly, the man behind the new Kodak tells you to say, “Cheese.” You look to your partner in a silent moment of shared befuddlement. 

Say what?

You form the first sound with your palate, then the next, and finally the “S”, before you realize with astonishment you’ve formed a kind of grin. This realization makes your pseudo-smile broaden, and before you have time to process what’s happened, the shutter clicks, and it’s over. 

According to Newspapers by Ancestry, saying cheese became commonplace in the 1940s, after the Big Spring Herald newspaper published a blurb on the phrase, deeming it the key to “making you look pleasant no matter what you’re thinking.” 

Interviewee Joseph E. Davies said a “great” politician first gave him the “automatic smile” formula — an allusion, many believed, to Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

Of course, there’s no way of knowing if the late president is the one who coined it, or even if he was the one to mention it to Davies at all. But, as with every unspecified, undocumented cultural saying, it’s fun to speculate. 

It’s nearly impossible, then, to know the true etymological origin of “Say cheese.” However, practically speaking, “cheese” is a naturally smile-inducing word, due to its phonetic make-up, and is thus well-suited to prompt the desired facial expression upon a posing subject. 

The “ch” (phonetic symbol č) parts the lips, poising them to open up for the “ee” (i), which is then suspended by the “s” (s). This process widens the mouth into a makeshift grin conducive to mid-Twentieth Century America’s introduction to the photographed smile. 

But regardless of precisely where it came from and why we still say it, the phrase owes its earliest origins to the development of photography as a medium. 

According to the Digital Public Library of America, in the early days of taking photos, one may have had to sit for up to thirty minutes in one position to wait for the device to do its work. Smiling in photos became popular largely because shutter and exposure speeds quickened astronomically. Instead of restraining one’s children and struggling to find a suitable half-an-hour posture, a person had to be presentable for a mere couple of seconds.

The expression soon became commonplace, and somewhere along the line, people found out “cheese” is kind of the perfect word to elicit the shape of a grin. 

It’s true: “Say cheese” has nothing to do with cheese itself, aside from its linguistic connection to the word’s image. Still, it’s fitting that a food as timeless and far-reaching as cheese be tied to an art form that makes possible the immortalization of time itself. 

Visit www.hoardscreamery.com to view Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s selection of artisan cheeses, and remember the makers next time you say “Cheese!”

Lactose intolerance may not mean the end of dairy consumption

A Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin webinar illuminated the condition and how we can work around it.

At 18 I gave up dairy and gluten to serve my digestive health. My doctor told me both foods exacerbated the gastrointestinal irritation I’d been experiencing. Going cold turkey helped for a while — the gurgling that had once plagued every meal quieted, and I regained control over the way my body felt day-to-day. However, a few years later, a lab test revealed I was deficient in vitamins B12, A, and D and minerals magnesium and potassium. My body wasn’t getting the nutrients it needed, and while over-the-counter supplements provided a retroactive solution, I longed for a concrete fix: a definitive equation to my years-long gut health proof. 

Around the same time as I learned of my malnutrition, I’d started working part-time at Hoard’s Dairyman, learning all kinds of interesting and illuminating details about what goes into American dairy farming, both as a practice and as a production leader for one of our basic food groups. One thing led to another, and I began to wonder about reintroducing milk products back into my diet. 

I began with what was literally right in front of me: Hoard’s Dairy Farm Creamery’s gouda cheese. I took my own triangle home and ate a small amount each day — wholly astounded by its quality — and began to realize it didn’t bother my stomach. I then purchased organic grass-fed whole milk at a local co-op and began putting it in my morning coffee. This proved to still adversely affect my digestion, and I became discouraged once again. I didn’t know what to do — should I continue purposefully irritating my gut in order to obtain nutrients I need or stick to my prior restrictions and find those nutrients elsewhere? 

Cue Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s webinar, “Understanding lactose intolerance.”

“If you cut anything out completely, you cut out all the nutritional value that goes along with that food group, and you could become deficient in those nutrients,” said Center for Dairy Research outreach program manager Andrea Miller during her presentation. 

Had this webinar not been made for me? 

There is a difference between an intolerance and an allergy, Miller emphasized. An intolerance is when something gets in the way of digestion and absorption, causing gastrointestinal upset (for example, our friend lactose intolerance), whereas an allergy triggers an immune response and can be life-threatening (for example, a peanut allergy). An intolerance may not require elimination of the food in its entirety, while an allergy mandates you do just that, so your first step should be determining if what you have is an allergy or an intolerance. Then, you can move forward with smart dietary decisions.

If what you suffer from is in fact an intolerance, note that reactions are highly variable. There are a number of factors that can contribute to the severity of a reaction, such as time of day, age, stress, pace of eating, accompanying foods, hormones, and quality of chewing. In this way, it can be difficult to pinpoint causes of symptoms, because a food may have one effect one time and a different effect at another time. This can make it incredibly frustrating to address food intolerances.  

But there is hope! First, let’s break down some of the science behind what goes on when we lactose intolerant sufferers consume milk. 

What’s really going on?

In order for lactose, a disaccharide (two-sugar molecule), to enter the bloodstream and be used for its intended purpose, it has to be broken down by an enzyme called lactase. Lactase breaks down the two-sugar disaccharide into two monosaccharaides (separate sugar molecules): galactose and glucose. These are then absorbed into the bloodstream as energy. 

Without lactase, lactose goes through the digestive system without being broken down; thus, it is undigested and unabsorbed, resulting in the gas and bloating that lactose intolerant individuals are familiar with. This also means it isn’t turned into the energy it is intended to be. If your lactase enzyme is underperforming or if you were born without one (both common conditions), you are almost guaranteed to experience discomfort when consuming dairy. 

The problem is: milk is a nutrient-dense food, containing the complete proteins found in animal products, rich levels of vitamins and minerals, and healthy, full fats. Basically, milk is pretty great. But who wants to be in chronic pain? If your body rejects it, what then? 

In her presentation, Miller outlined some ways to work around this. 

Wait, I can shop in the dairy aisle?

Eating cultured dairy products is one way to mitigate lactose intolerant symptoms. Cultured foods are foods that are strained, removing whey from their final form. Whey is the water-protein liquid left behind, and it is where most of the lactose lies. So, when whey is filtered out, lactose is filtered out, too, resulting in less disaccharides needing breaking down by our systems. 

Given that this filtration is a part of the cheesemaking process, cheese is perhaps the most tolerable form of dairy for lactose intolerant individuals. Other cultured products include Greek yogurt, kefir, crème freche, sour cream, and ultra-filtered milk (milk that has been strained and condensed). 

The bottom line: Cultured products contains less lactose in their final form and are more tolerable to consume. 

Another solution is to look for “lactose-free” milk, which contains an added lactase enzyme, or to take an over-the-counter lactase supplement to aid in the lactose-breakdown process. 

The end of the tunnel

For six years, I watched in envy as my lactose tolerant friends enjoyed cheeses and frappes and custards without a thought to their digestive tract. My intestines were an adversary to be conquered: a dragon guarding the castle of taste, a troll under the bridge to nutrients. I stewed in front of the milk alternative case, visions of dairy dancing in my head. 

Now, I am equipped with an educated lens through which I can approach my dairy consumption. My doctor was right in trying to help me find a way to ease my symptoms, but I wish someone had told me about the science behind my condition and ways to work around it when I was first navigating gut health. For those who identify with this struggle, I hope you find a path forward, too. 

Now, for my gluten intolerance… If someone has that figured out, you know where to find me. 

“Become one with the cheese!”

What do you get when you mix British tradition with modern-day intrigue? Hint: it involves cheese and minor injuries.

“Cheese is all we do. It’s all we’ve ever done,” Antonia of Chris Thomas’ 2019 short film Let’s Roll said to her mother in defense of her decision to compete in her town’s famous cheese roll race down Cooper’s Hill. 

Antonia’s obsession with the race and its glory comes from the legacy of winners within her family tree, but the competition also, as the film suggests, proves to be a kind of calling experienced by a select few — the hill is either of you, or it isn’t. 

Every spring, men and women from around the world journey to the Southern UK town of Gloucestershire to compete in a downhill chase after an eight-pound wheel of cheese. According to BBC, the hill’s slope is a staggering 45 degrees over 200 yards. One cannot “run” so much as “tumble” down it. Assuming one hasn’t been knocked unconscious during the lacerating race (as was Delaney Irving of Canada in 2023), a first-place finish elicits post-race interviews, the cheese wheel itself, and, of course, severe bragging rights. (Irving did in fact earn the title — after waking up in the medical tent.)

This year’s race saw a normal number of bumps and bruises. Victors were from as far away as Australia and as close to home as Gloucestershire. North Carolinian Abby Lampe snatched her second victory in the women’s race, making the U.S. home to an unrivaled two-time world champion (take that, summer Olympics).

The race began sometime in the 1800s (or likely before), and its origin story is largely disputed. From its being alleged to have been a pagan ritual for celebrating the arrival of spring, to farmers asserting grazing rights on the hill, its true inception may never be known.

The event is put on solely by volunteers fueled by the power of tradition (and quirk appeal), without any official sponsorship from the county. (On the contrary, city officials regularly warn the public about its dangers, but this doesn’t seem to deter the hundreds of spectators and competitors who flock to the hill every spring).

The key to winning – maybe even just to avoiding injury – may be to embody what Antonia’s friend and coach Nigel says twice during Let’s Roll: 

“You’re becoming one with the cheese!”

Thinking about joining in on the festivities? Watch a video or two of the races first . . .

And speaking of cheese — if this hasn’t made you hungry for a wheel of your own, I’m not sure what will — check out Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery’s selection of cheeses. An American version of the cheese roll, anyone?  

Quiz time! Test your Guernsey cow knowledge

Guernsey cows originated in which country?

1. The United States of America

2. The United Kingdom

3. India

4. France

(Scroll past the image for the answer)

If you answered B. The United Kingdom, you’re right! Guernsey cows originated on the Isle of Guernsey, which is part of the United Kingdom.

Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery at the Shorewood Farmer’s Market

What better way to spend a summer weekend than by shopping for local goods?

This season, look for Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery cheese at our hometown farmer’s market in Fort Atkinson, Wis., and at the Shorewood Farmer’s Market in Shorewood, Wis. 

A lakefront village north of Milwaukee, Shorewood is an idyllic setting for a market. Vendors, live music, and community engagement abound amidst farm fresh produce and locally sourced products. 

Shorewood champions their gatherings as “an opportunity to engage directly with the growers and producers of food, teach kids about the importance of our agricultural roots and nutrition, and connect with our community within and beyond the village.”

The market is located in Estabrook Park and will run from June 16 to October 27 on Sundays between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. 

After shopping, head to the Estabrook Beer Garden, the first public beer garden in the U.S.A. after Prohibition. The garden features imported beers from the Munich Hofbräuhaus in Germany as well as local craft beers, ciders, seltzers, draft root beer, and soft drinks. It sits on a bluff just above a waterfall and is steps away from park amenities such as disc golf, trails, and playgrounds. Bring a picnic, gather with friends, and enjoy the view. 

Be sure to say “Hello” to the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery staff at whichever market you attend, and happy summer! 

Cows, goats, and sheep cheese, oh my!

Mixed milk cheeses can be found all over the globe. Read on to learn about a couple standouts close by and far from home.

What is a mixed milk cheese? Sure, it’s some combination of milks, but which ones? Why mix milks to begin with? And what properties set mixed milk cheeses apart from their single-sourced cousins?

According to the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, mixing milks allows a cheesemaker to create all-new flavors and textures. It’s a “balancing act” that results in a unique blend of tang, creaminess, and depth — a perfect storm of the best properties and nutrients from each milk, resulting in a palatal encounter entirely its own. 

Most mixed milk cheeses in the U.S. and in Europe are some combination of goat, sheep, or cow’s milk. In countries where dairy buffalos abound, such as Nepal, India, and Pakistan, mixed milk cheeses may also include buffalo milk. 

Overall, milks from goats, sheep, and cows are comparable in their nutritional properties. However, goat milk contains slightly less lactose than cow’s (therefore being easier to digest for those with lactose intolerance) and sheep’s milk has the highest fat and protein content of all three but with the lowest yield. Cows can produce up to 8 gallons of milk a day, while sheep produce on average less than half a gallon per day. 

Goat’s milk also forms a softer curd than milk from cows or sheep, and it is lower in casein — the protein that causes curdling — which means goat cheese will crumble more easily than cheeses made with cow or sheep milk. 

So, what are some examples of mixed milk cheeses?

One most of us are familiar with — but may not have known to be mixed — is feta. The salty Greek cheese is traditionally made from a combination of sheep’s and goat’s milk. 

Other international mixed milk cheeses include variations of the Italian Romano, the Spanish Valdeon, and the French Pèrail. India’s paneer is usually made from a combination of cow and buffalo milk, and the Journal of Ethnic Foods cites the Nepalese chhurpi as a cheese made from cow, yak, and buffalo milk. 

There are a multitude of American-made mixed milk cheeses, too. Wisconsin’s own Ewe Calf to be Kidding, made from goat, cow, and sheep’s milk by Hook’s Cheese in Mineral Point, Wis., is firm and crumbly, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. 

Canaria and Mobay cheeses, also made in Wisconsin at Carr Valley Cheese Co. in La Valle, are made from a combination of goat and cow’s milk. Canaria is smooth, fruity, and nutty, and Mobay is creamy, with mixed-in herbs or spices. 

Nettle Meadow Farm in New York makes a mixed cow and goat milk cheese called Kunik. According to their website, this cheese has “mushroom and earthy notes.”

Cremont is a cow and goat mixed-milk cheese made by Vermont Creamery. It has a smooth interior and a cream-colored rind. 

Finally, from Penngrove, Calif., Mi-Ewe, produced by Weirauch Farm and Creamery, is made from a mixture of cow’s and sheep’s milk. It features a semi-hard texture and a buttery, nutty flavor. 

Of course, this list is far from exhaustive. Try searching for mixed-milk varieties in your area. Don’t forget to check out our selection of Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery cheeses as well. Mixed-milk cheeses are fantastic, but there’s nothing like pure Guernsey milk Gouda.