Artisans Grabbing Bigger Chunk Of Wisconsin Cheese Industry

Wisconsin-made aged cheddar is still king for consumers hunting for the perfect snack or party food, but an array of more distinctive and unique state-made specialty cheeses are so popular that they have become much more than a wedge in the state cheese industry’s wheel of success.

“People like their aged cheddar. We’re selling as much of it as ever. But we’re selling more of just about everything else,” said Jeanne Carpenter, specialty cheese manager at Metcalfe’s Market Hilldale store. “I think it’s cool that our taste buds are expanding,” she added.

The higher quality and more expensive state-made specialty, or artisan, cheeses are also expanding their influence around the state and nation. Specialty cheeses accounted for 23 percent of the overall state cheese production in 2014, which was a 9 percent jump since 2004, according to the latest data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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