Yes,
we are More Than Curds. But does that mean we should shun our beloved
dairy form our blog? I think not. Although we here at MTC strive to
bring you an overview of Wisconsin that reaches far beyond the
simplistic cheese, beer, and Packers stereotype, we also must admit that
we really love our cheese, beer, and Packers! So having said that, I
present you one of our most traditional and unique cheeses from
Wisconsin: Limburger.
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America's last Limburger-er |
Yes,
Limburger. The name alone will conjure images of cartoon mice that
won’t eat the infamously stinky cheese. But I believe that was drawn by
one who has never tasted the amazing taste and texture of Limburger.
Yes, it has a pungency to it, but Limburger is fantastically delicious.
And it’s only made here in Wisconsin. At one time, Limburger was a
favorite working-man’s cheese and was produced by about 25 cheese
factories, though it’s popularity waned as the American palate for
cheese favored bland, mass-produced cheeses that didn’t require much
care.
We
begin driving south, to Monroe. Limburger, although originally from
Germany (or Belgium, depending on who you ask), is now only
traditionally made by hand in one place: Chalet Cheese Cooperative.
Myron Olson, the only Master Cheesemaker in Limburger in the world, is
our guide. This man is so into his Limburger that even his license
plate sings its praises. The Chalet Cheese Co-op was founded in 1885 by
five farmers as a cheese co-op and still operates as a co-op with 21
family farms today. Myron got his start in the factory as a janitor
when he was in high school and worked his way up into the age-old craft
of cheesemaking.
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Myron's array of awards for his world-class cheese |
The
Co-op brings in 100,000 pounds of milk (roughly 11,000 gallons) a day,
which might sound like a lot, but is actually quite small for a cheese
factory (some larger plants are processing over two million pounds a
day!). The cheese is pasteurized and then taken to the vat for
coagulation. Bacterial cultures and enzymes are added to separate the
curds from the whey (at this point you have what is essentially cottage
cheese). The whey is drained and the curds are pressed into small
blocks.
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Coagulating the milk |
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Cutting the curd |
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Hand-washing the cheese |
Once
the blocks are formed is when the real magic happens. Unaged Limburger
is a lot like Feta: salt and crumbly. To produce soft texture, buttery
flavor, and pungent aroma the cheese must be ripened in a special aging
room. They get a bath of special bacteria and yeast which works on
breaking down the proteins in the cheese. Only at Chalet is this done
by hand. The room is kept at a cool 50 degrees with about 80% humidity.
When the cheese plant moved to its current location in the 1960’s,
they found that the cheese wasn’t ripening properly. They went to the
original plant and brought in a few of the pine boards from the old
aging room and found that the natural cultures in the wood is what did
the trick! They still use this same culture as when the plant opened in
the 1880’s.
Myron is the last Limburger maker in the country, though he is starting to see its popularity come around. Most people born after 1960 don't care for the full-flavored cheese, but as artisinal cheese becomes more popular, he's hoping Limburger will too. Maybe it's just the name--if was named "Olson's Private Reserved Washed-Rind cheese", then maybe more people would be more likely to try it!
Young
Limburger will have a mild flavor and firm texture. As it gets older,
the texture will soften and the smell will get really intense! For
beginners, I usually serve a medium Limburger with the rind cut off.
The way my German grandpa and I eat it is old and smelly! For a true Wisconsin lunch, serve it on pumpernickel rye with Dusseldorf mustard
and raw onions. All washed down with a beer, of course!
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Photo: DailyStar.com |
thanks for taking us through this awesome factory i did a report on more than cuds for my final year project i also got a chance to visit the factory i completely feel in love with what goes down there thanks for sharing this greg
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