The Return of the Cheesetraveler…

Hello Fellow Cheese Enthusiasts!

By now I am sure that most of my loyal readers have thought that something drastic must have happened (like being trapped in a cheese cave, becoming lactose intolerant, or worse) to me, as it has been a while since I have written a blog post. The truth is that after being isolated for 18 months from my cheese community, I was down…Then travel opened back up for me and I found myself busier than ever. I still have many more stories to share, so be patient with me as I gear back up and get back to my writing that I miss so desperately…

With my boarding pass, mask, hand sanitizer, cutting board, walking stick, and my vaccine card, my travel adventures began…

First stop was Minneapolis, Minnesota….Home to some of the best cheese shops! A stop at Lunds & Byerlys, Surdyk’s, and Whole Foods, to pick up some fresh baked bread at Bellecour Bakery. While I was here, I experienced some Good Thunder, no not the atmospheric kind, but the 100% Grass Fed, Washed Rind, Stinky-Cheese kind…Good Thunder is a locally made cheese from the Alemar Cheese Company in Minneapolis.

“Since its founding in 2008, the Alemar Cheese Company has become a success story to emerge from Southern Minnesota – small-batch cheeses, originally produced in the small Minnesota town of Mankato.

Their story began with founder Keith Adams, a native of Davis, California. Inspired in part by friends in the California wine and cheese industries, he began looking much closer at what had been a casual interest – artisan cheesemaking. As he researched, he sought out specific individuals to advise and mentor his entry into the craft. He credits Sue Conley of Cowgirl Creamery in California as most influential.

In 2008 Keith launched the Alemar (named for his daughters Alexandra and Mariel) Cheese Company. Within the first two years, they picked up their first award from the American Cheese Society.

In July 2019, Alemar Cheese received an opportunity too good to resist…A spot in the Food Building (one of my favorites in the area) which has been a match made in heaven”.

Today’s cheese, Good Thunder, is “a surface-ripened square, washed in local Nacht Rider beer from the Arbeiter Brewing Company. The cheese is washed weekly for three weeks, during which time the wash soaks in slowly, producing an alchemy of flavors between the two.”

Next stop, Columbus Ohio – The second most populated city in the Midwest (after Chicago), the home to Ohio State University, and it also happens to be the State Capital!

While in town, I wanted to try and find some local cheeses and it didn’t take too long to find. Ohio has a number of Amish Dairies that I was familiar with.

“Alfred Guggisberg, the founder of Guggisberg Cheese, took an interest in cheese-making at a very young age. He was only sixteen when he began to study the art of cheese making in the high pastures of the Alps in his homeland of Switzerland. He went on to attend the famous Swiss Federal “Molkereishulle” (cheese maker’s institute) to further improve upon his craft. Upon completing his schooling, Alfred spent years making cheese throughout Europe before coming over to the United States in 1947 in search of a new challenge. It didn’t take long for Alfred to earn a reputation as an exceptional cheese maker. As a result of his abilities, Alfred was sought-after by Amish farmers in Holmes County, Ohio, who were in search of a cheese maker to provide a market for their milk. The operation that Alfred took over, known then as Doughty Valley Cheese, evolved and became Guggisberg Cheese in 1950.

In the 1960s, after having sufficient time to experiment with the local milk, Alfred was able to develop a new style of Swiss. His objective in doing so was to come up with a taste that was more favorable to the less-developed American palate. The main differences with this cheese were that it featured smaller “eyes” (holes) and had a creamier taste. Alfred’s wife, Margaret Guggisberg, christened the new cheese “Baby Swiss” after she saw a wheel of it next to the much larger wheel of traditional Emmental Swiss.”

Alfred passed away in 1985, and his son, Richard Guggisberg, is now president. Under Richard’s leadership,Guggisberg Baby Swiss was awarded #1 Cheese in America as the 2019 United States Grand Champion at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.

Last stop for this excursion was Madison, Wisconsin (Hmmm….But where to find cheese in Wisconsin…Oh yeah….everywhere!)

I stopped in to visit my friends at Fromagination in Madison, a wonderful Cheese Shop found right in the Madison State Capital square.

There, proudly displayed on the top of the counter was Red Rock, a “Cellar Aged Cheddar Blue”…If you are not familiar with the term, you are not alone. Here is how they describe it: “Our original recipe, American style, naturally bloomy-rinded cheddar cheese with a slight blue vein.  Richly colored with annatto and cave aged to maturity.  Mild flavored with a creamy texture.  Made with pasteurized cow’s milk and aged at least 60 days.”

This cheese really has a great back story…On August 2, 2007, a small cheese factory celebrated its grand re-opening after being closed more than sixteen years. This was a very proud day for Chris Roelli and his father, David…You see, Chris was a fourth-generation cheese maker and the cutting of this ceremonial ribbon signified to the region, that the Roelli’s were back in business. Chris’s great-grandfather, Adolph Roelli had come to the region in the 1920’s producing cheddar…This modern version produced small artisan cheeses…Roelli’s Cheese was reborn!

What a wonderful success story as Red Rock took Best in Class in the Open Class Cheeses with Blue Molding at the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest.  Red Rock then went head-to-head with the other Best in Class winners to be named to the Top 20 cheeses…quite a feat as this was chosen from nearly 3,000 entries from sixteen countries.

Congratulations to Master Cheesemaker Chris Roelli and his team!

Many reading this story may not have the chance to travel and purchase these cheeses on their own…Luckily all of these cheeses can be purchased through their individual website links found in the story….A much better option than trying to sneak it into your luggage! 😊

Glad to be back…writing this story renewed me!   

Until next time….

Trevor, your Cheese Traveler