Ocooch Mountain Cheese An Up-And-Comer

Brenda and Dean Jensen launched Hidden Springs Creamery less than a decade ago with no intention of making cheese. Dean, an urban native with an itch to farm, "just wanted to milk something," says Brenda.

The couple purchased 50 dairy sheep, found buyers for the milk and settled into an exhausting routine. Dean did the morning milking before he left for his day job, and Brenda took the evening turn when she got home from hers.

The Wisconsin couple soon realized that their flock's rich milk would bring in more income as cheese, so they began the search for a cheese maker. In the interim, Brenda tried her hand at it and discovered that she loved the craft. Mentored by consultants and some of the state's established cheese makers, she quit a good managerial job and made the leap. "I told my husband, 'I think I'm it. I think I'm the cheese maker.' "

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