cheeseunderground american cheese society, fromagination, Wisconsin cheese

ACS Folks: Here Are 5 Ways to Become a Wisconsite

Hey there ACS fans and friends! I know you’re traveling to Madison for the American Cheese Society this week, and you might be worrying about how to fit into our cosmopolitan world class city. Here’s my first word of advice: leave the stilettos at home and pack your Birkenstocks. Then follow these five suggestions to become a true member of America’s Dairyland.

1. Eat deep fried cheese curds until you’re sick
Just like Friday fish fries, Jell-O salads, and beer brats, deep-fried cheese curds are uniquely Wisconsin. In downtown Madison, dozens of restaurants offer deep-fried curds as an appetizer or side, and some are even transforming the once lowly fair-food into a top-shelf item. Around the Square, check out the deep fried beauties at The Old Fashioned, Tipsy Cow or Graze. For best results, pair with a local craft beer, because it’s always best to mix hot oil and cheese with a little fermented yeast.

2. Drink beer with a cheesemaker
Madison is home to a thriving craft beer culture, with a half dozen brewpubs located within a couple blocks of the Square. On July 31, buy a $10 Pub Crawl ticket at the ACS Registration desk and buy a pint to drink with one of 18 different Wisconsin cheesemakers hanging out at six different downtown taverns. Visit them all, and you can enter to win a free ACS Registration for next year.

3. Get your shop on down State Street
Madison is a university town, and in the fall, winter and spring, State Street – a pedestrian-only, six-block shopping boulevard – is crowded with students. In good news, it’s summer, so you’ll have it to yourself. Full of eclectic shops and restaurants, State Street is THE place to see and be seen in Madison. Walk to the end and enjoy an ice cream cone at the UW-Madison Union, and sit on the pier while watching sailboats cruise Lake Mendota.

4. Eat a picnic on the Capital lawn
During the lunch hour and extending well into the afternoon, the four sides of the state capital lawn transform into the city’s unofficial picnic spot for downtown workers and visitors. Grab a sandwich and cheese plate from Fromagination, walk across the street, and people watch as you enjoy a cheesy snack. Warning: the lawn is famous for its influx (some might say infestation) of squirrels, so guard that sandwich accordingly.

5. Explore the Capital City Path via B Cycle
A paved bike/walking path starts downtown and rings Lake Monona, enticing many a visitor to hop on a rented bicycle or hoof it around the lake. Buy a B-Cycle pass for just $3 – a special discount for conference attendees from the normal $5 rate (there are two stations on West Wilson, on either side of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, just one block up from the Monona Terrace) – and explore the Capital City Path for an afternoon on wheels. Find information about public restroom stops and drinking fountains at Bike Madison. Be sure and stop to feed the ducks your leftover sandwich on Lake Monona or enjoy the sunset in Olin Park. Pedal back before dark to enjoy the view of the Capital lit up at night.

Of course, it goes without saying that I’ll see you all on Saturday at the Dane County Farmer’s Market, which surrounds the Capital Square, and is the largest producer-only farmer’s market in the nation. See you there!

cheeseunderground american cheese society, fromagination, Metcalfe's Market

Your One Stop Shop for ACS Public Cheesemaker Events

With the American Cheese Society Conference and Competition in town all week at the Monona Terrace, it’s sheer cheese madness in Madison. This week will be one of the only times you’ll ever see hundreds of cheesemakers all in the same place at the same time, and many are doing special events around the state.

So, while the conference itself is aimed primarily towards cheese professionals and serious cheese enthusiasts, here’s a round-up of cheesy events where you can still meet your favorite cheesemaker and taste their cheeses.

MONDAY, JULY 29

Book Signing and Cheese Tasting with Author Janet Fletcher
Time: 6 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

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TUESDAY, JULY 30

Sartori Cheese Tasting
Time: Noon – 4 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

Alemar Cheese Tasting with Minnesota Cheesemaker Keith Adams
Time: 5-7 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 31

Sugar Brook Cheese Tasting
Time: 1-3 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

Sartori Cheese Tasting
Time: 2:30-5:30 pm
Location: Metcalfe’s Market, 726 N. Midvale Blvd., Madison
Cost: Free 

Green Dirt Farm Cheese Tasting with Missouri Cheesemaker Jacqueline Smith
Time: 3-6 pm
Location: Metcalfe’s Market, 726 N. Midvale Blvd., Madison
Cost: Free

Holland Family Farms Cheese Tasting
Time: 5-7 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

Avalanche Cheese Company Cheese Tasting with Colorado Cheesemaker Wendy Mitchell
Time: 5-7 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery Tasting with Vermont Cheesemaker Joey Connor
Time: 5-7 pm
Location: Metcalfe’s Market, 726 N. Midvale Blvd., Madison
Cost: Free

ACS Meet Madison, Hosted by Underground Food Collective
Time: 5:30 – 8pm
Location: James Madison Park, 614 East Gorham Street, Madison
Cost: $20 per person, a fundraiser for the Daphne Zepos Teaching Award, purchase at meetmadisonandthedzta.eventbrite.com

Brazos Valley Farm Cheese Tasting with Texas Cheesemaker Marc Kuehl
Time: 6-7 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 1

Roelli Cheese Tasting with Wisconsin Cheesemaker Chris Roelli
Time: 1 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

Avalanche Cheese Company Cheese Tasting with Colorado Cheesemaker Wendy Mitchell
Time: 4-6 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

Alemar Cheese Tasting with Minnesota Cheesemaker Keith Adams
Time: 4-6 pm
Location: Metcalfe’s Market, 726 N. Midvale Blvd., Madison
Cost: Free

Summer of Riesling Crawl
Time: 6:15 – 9 pm
Location: Fromagination, Fresco & Square Wine Company
Cost: $35 per person, purchase ticket at frescomadison.com/rieslingcrawl

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 3

Holland’s Family Cheese Tasting
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Location: Metcalfe’s Market, 726 N. Midvale Blvd., Madison
Cost: Free

Beehive Cheese Tasting with Utah Co-Founder Jeanette Ford
Time: 11am – 3 pm
Location: Metcalfe’s Market, 726 N. Midvale Blvd., Madison
Cost: Free

Martha’s Pimento Cheese Tasting with Wisconsin Cheesemaker Martha Davis Kipcak
Time: Noon – 2 pm
Location: Metcalfe’s Market, 726 N. Midvale Blvd., Madison
Cost: Free

Specialty Foods Tasting with Treats Bake Shop, Smoking Goose Meat, Quince & Apple, Lala’s Nuts
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Location: Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St., Madison
Cost: Free

American Cheese Society Festival of Cheese – Taste 1,700 Cheeses!
Time: 7 – 9:30 pm
Location: Exhibition Hall, Monona Terrace, One John Nolan Drive, Madison WI
Cost: $55 per person, purchase at www.cheesesociety.org

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 4

American Cheese Society Cheese Sale
Time: 11 am – 2 pm
Location: Grand Terrace, Monona Terrace, One John Nolan Drive, Madison
Cost: Free, but bring cash to buy cheeses from the conference

Cheese Tasting and Reading from Cheesemonger, A Life on the Wedge, with author Gordon Edgar, America’s Coolest Cheesemonger
Time: Noon
Location: Glorioso’s Italian Market, 1011 East Brady St., Milwaukee
Cost: $35 per person, register at www.gloriosos.com

Looking forward to seeing all of my cheese friends this week in Madison! Let me know if you know of other events, and I’ll add them to this list.

cheeseunderground brie, caprine supreme, fromagination, goat's milk, todd jaskolski, Wisconsin cheese

La-Von Farmhouse Brie

Photo by Uriah Carpenter
A former Wisconsin dairy goat producer, yogurt maker and specialty cheesemaker is in the process of reinventing himself as one of the state’s best farmhouse brie makers.

Todd Jaskolski, of Caprine Supreme in Black Creek, Wisconsin, debuted his La-Von Farmhouse Brie last week at the Fourth Annual Wisconsin Cheese Originals Festival. Named for his mother and available in both goat and cow’s milk, the brie is one of the first authentic farmhouse bries made in the state.

Made in 8-ounce rounds, the artisan cheese – made in mini batches, by hand – is not a commercial brie and, therefore, does not sport the perfect velvety half-inch thick white rind most Americans are used to seeing on tasteless mass-made, throw-it-at-the-wall-and-it-will-bounce-off brie. Instead, Jaskolski is using quality milk and real Geotrichum candidum to create a thin, tasty rind that is white with natural orange and sometimes even red mold dotting the outside. It’s the kind of brie you’re more likely to find in the French countryside than in an America cheese shop. Jaskolski makes it to order, so a three-week lead time is necessary. The cheese is made to be eaten between 3-6 weeks of age.

Once a dairy goat farmer and maker of the popular Caprine Supreme flavored goat milk yogurts, Jaskolski and his wife, Sheryl, had to sell their goat herd and retool the farmstead dairy plant after Todd suffered from a debilitating genetic disease that is essentially eating away his shoulders. After surgery on both, he can only lift his arms high enough to steer a car (think John McCain), and has remodeled the factory to lower all valves and tools so he can reach them. He carries a stool with him most of the time.

“We were bottling milk, making yogurt, making cheddar, milking goats twice a day and killing ourselves,” Jaskolski told me back in August when he brought one of his first test wheels to me to try. “I could sit at home and collect disability and get fat, or I could keep making cheese. I’d rather make cheese.”

Wisconsin is lucky Jaskolski decided to reinvent his farmstead dairy plant into an artisan brie creamery. While the cheese is just hitting markets, you can find it right now at Fromagination in Madison and in the coming weeks at Metcalfe’s Market. Be sure and ask your favorite cheese store to carry it.

cheeseunderground Andy Hatch, fromagination, Ken Monteleone, pleasant ridge reserve

Fromagination Celebrates 5 Years with 80 Pounds of Pleasant Ridge Reserve

What started out as the little-store-that-could and morphed into one of the nation’s premiere cut-to-order cheese shops will celebrate its fifth anniversary in style this week with an 80-pound wheel of Pleasant Ridge Reserve.

Owner Ken Monteleone, who first opened Fromagination in October 2007, will mark his 5-year anniversary this Friday at 3 p.m. by cutting one of only two 80-pound wheels of award-winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve ever made by Uplands Cheesemaker Andy Hatch in Dodgeville. The 12-month-aged cheese will be offered to the public for tasting and sale.

“It seemed like a pretty good occasion to break out the big wheel,” Andy told me this week. “Ken has done a lot for artisan cheesemakers. We’re just happy to be part of his big day.”

I first met Ken six years ago, when Fromagination was nothing more than a concept he carried around in a black portfolio. I remember meeting him at Barrique’s on West Washington Ave., talking about store concepts and what cheeses he would carry. When he opened in October 2007, Fromagination carried nothing but Wisconsin artisan cheeses for the first 30 days. It was the first time a cheese shop of that calibre had done such a thing, and it put Wisconsin artisan cheesemakers on the map.

Since then, Ken and his staff have focused on forging close relationships with Wisconsin cheesemakers, and as a result, the little shop on the Capital Square is often one of the first retailers many artisans contact when a new cheese is developed and ready for tasting. Monteleone sources as many local products as possible, with nearly 60 percent of the shop’s 400 products coming from an area stretching from Minneapolis to Madison to Chicago.

That dedication has been recognized by the industry. Lauded for its dedication to serving cheesemakers and small artisans, its attention to customer service, and its commitment to the environment, Fromagination was named an Outstanding Retailer in 2011 by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, and is a perennial winner in local Best of Madison contests for favorite specialty food store.

Be sure and stop by 12 S. Carroll Street in Madison on Friday at 3 p.m., say congrats to Ken, and take home a piece of big-wheel Pleasant Ridge Reserve. See you then!

cheeseunderground fromagination, jeanne carpenter, sara hill, Wisconsin cheese

The Cheese Geek & Cheese Guru Present Fall Class Series

Two women (spoiler alert: one of them is me) dedicated to teaching, writing, and most importantly, eating Wisconsin artisan cheeses, are teaming up to lead a fun fall class series at Fromagination in Madison.

Sara Hill, of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, whose license plate reads CHZ GURU, and me, whose license plate says CHZ GEEK, will launch our “Cheese Geek and Cheese Guru” fall class series in September.

Attendees may sign up for all three classes at $90 per person, or for each class separately at $30 per class. Class size is limited to just 15 people, making this an intimate and informal setting, perfect for asking questions. Sessions start at 7 p.m. and seats must be reserved in advance at www.wicheeseclass.com.

The Cheese Geek and Cheese Guru Fall Session at Fromagination includes:

Tuesday, Sept. 25: Best Cheeses in America
Having just returned from the 2012 American Cheese Society Conference, Sara and I will bring back five of the best new cheeses made in America. Attendees will taste five award-winning cheeses from around the country, learn their stories, and get the opportunity to purchase up to one-half pound of each to take home.

Thursday, Oct. 4: Ocktoberfest, Wisconsin Style
Who does craft beer and artisan cheese better than Wisconsin? No one. Attendees will taste four Wisconsin craft beers, expertly paired with four Wisconsin artisan cheeses, hearing the behind-the-scenes-stories of each beer and cheese.

Wednesday, Nov 14: European Vs. Wisconsin Cheeses
Old World favorites vs. New World upstarts: attendees will judge whether Wisconsin cheesemakers are holding their own, or may we daresay winning, the race in crafting world-class original cheeses. Attendees will taste eight cheeses, four European and four Wisconsin, hearing the stories of each, with the opportunity to purchase each at evening’s end.

I look forward to seeing you at the classes!