2023 United States Championship Cheese Contest at the Resch Expo in Green Bay.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — The 2023 United States Championship Cheese Contest is officially underway at the Resch Expo in Green Bay.
This year, a total of 2,249 entries have been submitted across 113 classes by cheesemakers from 35 states. These products will be evaluated by a judging team comprised of 42 cheese graders, cheese buyers, dairy science professors, and researchers hailing from 12 states.
Areas of interest while judging the various cheeses are flavor, texture, salt, packaging, and more. Assistant chief judge, Tim Czmowski, says if there are defects, that affects their score.
“There’s a certain number of points that are associated with how extreme the defect is; and we subtract points from 100.” said Czmowski. “So the winner will be the one who ends up the closest to 100.0 points.”
The following Wisconsin businesses are set to compete among dairy processors from 35 U.S. states:
- Agropur of Luxemburg and Weyauwega, Wisconsin
- Arla Foods of Kaukauna, Wisconsin
- BelGioioso Cheese, Inc. of Denmark, Wisconsin
- Caprine Supreme, LLC of Black Creek, Wisconsin
- Door Artisan Cheese Company of Egg Harbor, Wisconsin
- Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery of New London, Wisconsin
- Emmi Roth USA of Seymour, Wisconsin
- Foremost Farms USA of Appleton, Wisconsin
- Hay Americyan Foods, LLC of Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Henning’s Cheese of Kiel, Wisconsin
- Mosaic Meadows – LaClare Creamery, Saxon Creamery, and Simply Dairy of Malone, Wisconsin
- Land O’Lakes, Inc. of Kiel, Wisconsin
- Milk Specialties Global of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
- Pine River Dairy of Manitowoc, Wisconsin
- Pine River Pre-Pack, Inc. of Newton, Wisconsin
- Red Barn Family Farms of Appleton, Wisconsin
- Renard’s Cheese/Rosewood Dairy, Inc. of Algoma, Wisconsin
- Ron’s Wisconsin Cheese, LLC of Kewaunee, Wisconsin
- Saputo of Black Creek, Wisconsin
- Sargento Foods – Baker Cheese of St. Cloud, Wisconsin
- Schreiber Foods of Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Tea Rose Toggenburgs, LLC of Berlin, Wisconsin
- The Artisan Cheese Exchange of Sheboygan, Wisconsin
- Union Star Cheese of Berlin, Wisconsin
Other cheesemakers are from Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.
Mary Lindemann with Pine River Pre-Pack in Newton, Wisconsin says some companies make a cheese specifically for competition; but not them.
“We just go down to our cooler, and we take the same product you would buy in the grocery store.” said Lindemann. “We want it to be good and ready for a contest all the time.”
She says this year they have entered their cranberry and cheddar, aged asiago, bleu cheese, spicy beer flavor, sharp cheddar, and swiss almond cheeses.
All remaining judging rounds will take place on Wednesday, February 22 from 2-5 p.m.
The final announcement of the Top 20 cheeses and U.S. Champion will take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 23 and will be livestreamed at USChampionCheese.org.
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