Yes, cheese from Wisconsin really is that good. So I was excited to read the new book The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin by CHOW.com’s own Supertaster columnist, Jim Norton, and his wife, photographer Becca Dilley.
The layout is really fun if you have an interest in the personalities behind the products: Each gorgeous picture of a particular cheese, like, say, the Cinnamon-rubbed butter jack from Bass Lake Cheese Factor, is paired with a mini-profile of the cheesemaker. In the case of the butter Jack, for instance, we learn that Bass Lake’s Scott Erickson looks really artsy, and once made gelatinous lutefisk (a Norwegian holiday dish of lye-cured codfish) for a living. It’s interesting to know just who goes into the old-fashioned business of making small-batch cheeses and how each cheesemaker got there, because who hasn’t fantasized about joining them?
I am a cheese-a-holic. Recently I discovered Brennan’s (a gourmet chain in Wisconsin) 12-year-old aged cheddar. It is very pricey but incredibly sharp and gritty. Their website is http://www.BrennansMarket.com. This is simply the best cheddar I have ever tasted. I would LOVE to make mac ‘n cheese with it, but it would cost about $50.00!