Day 483 : SCS Version 5.0, Dispatch #1

For my next round of State Country spotlight, I went back and looked at the States and Countries I have focused on and decided that this month we should focus on Wisconsin and Italy - two cheesemaking meccas!

Did you know the Wisconsin cheesemakers association was founded in 1891? The New York Cheesemakers Association was founded in 2003 just to give you an example of how far back cheesemaking goes in Wisconsin. For today, I thought I would introduce you to my favorite Wisconsin cheese -- Buttermilk Blue crafted by Roth Kase in Monroe, WI. Roth Kase has its roots in Switzerland in the 1860s with a cheesemaker by the name of Oswald Roth who exported Emmental cheese. So how did we go from Switzerland to Wisconsin? Well in 1911, Otto Roth, one of Roth's six children starts a Swiss cheese importing agency in New York. 1936 -- the Roth family in the US starts manufacturing their own cheese.  In the 1980s they were bought by General Foods and in the 1990s settled into their Wisconsin home. So what is Buttermilk Blue?

Buttermilk Blue is crafted with raw milk from Jersey and Holstein cows crafted in a traditional style and aged for approximately sixty days -- it is grassy and mild but with a tangy blue punch and a smooth finish. This is a blue cheese that surely will be a crowd pleaser -- intellectual and unique yet approachable and friendly. You can't go wrong here! Serve with a nice glass of White Port.

Image courtesy of http://www.wisconsinmade.com/

Since we've proposed a Wisconsin blue, I figure I might as well go with an Italian blue as well. We all know of Gorgonzola and it sure is Italy's claim to blue fame and from yesterday's blog we know of Gorgonzola Dolce or Gorgonzola Cremificato but do we all know Gorgonzola Piccante? And what exactly is the difference? Well Gorgonzola Cremificato with its ivory interior is the younger, creamier, more luscious cousin to the spicier, firmer, aged Gorgonzola Piccante which is washed in brine and aged for approximately a year producing a brick reddish rind and a lightly yellow interior. Buttery notes are off set with an excellent spicy earthy, and farmsteady barnyardy finish. This is not a cheese for the faint of heart but boy is it fabulous! Enjoy this with a nice dessert wine.

Image courtesy of http://www.artisanalcheese.com/