Wisconsin has a new cheesesmaker, and it’s a guy making goat’s milk yogurt. Go figure. Our dairy artisans can do it all.
Todd Jaskolski of Black Creek called today to tell us he successfully passed his cheesemaking test, so he’s an official licensed cheesemaker. In Wisconsin, this is a big deal. That’s because we’re the only state to require its cheesemakers to be licensed, and it’s about an 18 month process that includes lots of classroom time and at least 240 hours of apprenticeship in an actual cheese factory.
Todd and his wife Sheryl milk about 400 dairy goats. About two years ago, they started down the path of crafting Wisconsin’s first goat’s milk yogurt. It was a long process, but they’re finally starting to see success. They’re now selling their Caprine Supreme goat’s milk yogurts in several natural food stores and co-ops across Wisconsin. Regional stores are also rolling it out on trial periods to see how it sells – so be sure to pick it up and try it if you see it on a shelf.
Todd & Sheryl have aspirations to perhaps one day build their own farmstead yogurt and cheese factory (right now, they’re sharing another artisan’s yogurt facility), so we’ll watch with interest just when and how he puts that cheesemaker’s license to use. We can always use another signature artisan goat cheese!
