— By Stacy Brooks —

Wisconsin’s nickname is “America’s Dairyland,” and it’s simple to see why on a street journey throughout the state. As you make your means by means of, you’ll discover cows grazing subsequent to the freeway and deep-fried cheese curds on the menu at roadside diners. The state is house to just about 1,200 licensed cheesemakers who produce greater than 600 completely different sorts of cheese, starting from traditional cheddar to distinctive specialty creations. In 2024, Wisconsin cheesemakers produced 3.58 billion kilos of cheese, or 25% of the cheese produced in the USA.

Need to get in on a few of that tacky motion? These kid-friendly Wisconsin cheese factories (also referred to as creameries) provide a peek on the cheesemaking course of, picture alternatives with large cows, and scrumptious dairy-based eats like contemporary cheese curds, grilled cheese sandwiches, and ice cream cones.

Marieke Gouda

Marieke Gouda’s in-store cheese choice / Picture by Stacy Brooks

Positioned simply off Freeway 29 in Thorp, Wisconsin (lower than an hour’s drive from Eau Claire), Marieke Gouda makes use of conventional Dutch cheesemaking strategies to craft a variety of gouda cheese, from delicate younger gouda to variations flavored with bacon, honey clover, jalapeño, and extra.

Marieke Gouda was based by and is overseen by cheesemaker Marieke Penterman, who grew up within the Netherlands and in 2024, grew to become the fourth girl in historical past to earn a Wisconsin Grasp Cheesemaker certification. Marieke Gouda is a farmstead cheesemaker, that means that the cheese and milk are produced on the similar location.

We began our go to with a cease by the barn, which is simply throughout the patio from the constructing housing the creamery, cheese retailer, and cafe (extra on these later). We missed out on seeing the cows being milked, however we had been capable of see the milking parlor by means of viewing home windows and study extra about dairy farming due to instructional shows that defined the method. 

For a extra in-depth expertise (and assured cow viewing), friends can be a part of a guided tour of the milking parlor and barn (provided June by means of August, Monday by means of Saturday, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.). Though we weren’t capable of see actual cows, we had been capable of snap a photograph with the enormous cow statue subsequent to the barn.

Marieke Gouda cow statue / Picture by Stacy Brooks

On the Marieke Gouda Retailer, we peeked by means of the home windows to observe cheesemakers in motion, monitoring the cheese vats within the adjoining creamery and rotating giant wheels of cheese within the growing older room. Informational indicators walked us by means of your complete cheesemaking course of, from the pipeline system that transports the milk from the barn to molding the cheese curds into wheels. The shop is stocked with the total lineup of Marieke Gouda cheeses, with sizes starting from manageable wedges to five-pound hunks.

We had been delighted to find a wide range of cheeses made by different Wisconsin producers together with cheddars, string cheese, and contemporary curds, together with a number of flavors of Marieke gouda out there to pattern. Domestically made cheese accompaniments like jams and crackers, sweet, and presents rounded out the sizable choice of merchandise.

By this level, we had been prepared for lunch at Café Dutchess, Marieke Gouda’s full-service restaurant. The eating room has home windows with views of the growing older room — as we waited for our meals, we admired lots of of huge wheels of cheese stacked on cabinets. Appropriately, Café Dutchess serves deep-fried curds, burgers, sandwiches (we liked the gouda grilled cheese with fries), and salads that includes Marieke Gouda cheeses. On the youngsters’ menu, there’s gouda grilled cheese in addition to gouda mac and cheese.

Scray Cheese

Cheesemaking at Scray Cheese / Picture courtesy of Uncover Inexperienced Bay

Though it’s solely a few 20 minute drive from Inexperienced Bay, Scray Cheese Manufacturing facility & Shoppe in De Pere, Wisconsin has a distant, rural really feel. Our drive took us down picturesque roads and ended on the small manufacturing unit that’s been churning out handmade cheese since 1924. The fourth era, family-owned manufacturing unit has a store stocked with curds contemporary from the manufacturing line; our bag of curds was nonetheless heat, and there was a pleasant squeak as we bit into every curd. Contemporary curds are produced day-after-day besides Friday and Sunday.

The cheese store is situated in a brick constructing that used to deal with the manufacturing unit’s head cheesemaker — earlier than fashionable expertise like refrigeration, cheesemaking was a round the clock job. Immediately, the small store sells blocks of cheddar, gouda, and fontina (plus, in fact, contemporary curds), with a handful of cheeses out there to pattern.

Scray Cheese is particularly recognized for his or her inventive flavors of cheddar. We liked ogling the distinctive choices like French onion, guacamole, and taco. Among the flavors are longstanding recipes, such because the Tuscan rosemary; others are experimental concepts pitched by the manufacturing unit’s workers, like strawberry tajin and low maple. We ended up bringing house a tasty block of blueberry cheddar.  

The store additionally has an ice cream counter serving laborious scooped ice cream and a choice of cheese-themed presents, like t-shirts and magnets. 

Scray Cheese exterior / Picture by Stacy Brooks

Ellsworth Creamery

Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s Menomonie location is simply off of I-94, good to interrupt up our drive from Inexperienced Bay to our house in Minnesota. A collection of viewing home windows gave us a step-by-step, behind-the-scenes perspective on your complete cheesemaking course of — from receiving the milk to reworking curds into blocks of cheese, with useful instructional indicators. 

The dimensions of the ability was mind-boggling, particularly in comparison with smaller creameries like Marieke Gouda and Scray Cheese. To get a way of scale, it’s useful to understand that Ellsworth sources milk from 200 household dairy farms.

Ellsworth Creamery / Picture by Stacy Brooks

After watching cheesemaking by means of the home windows, we perused the completed merchandise. The creamery’s expansive retailer is stocked with greater than 280 Wisconsin cheeses, together with contemporary Ellsworth cheese curds. The shop is thought for sometimes providing brand-new tacky creations which are being examined on prospects, like Buffalo Wing Jack cheese. Different objects embrace locally-made snacks, fudge, and drinks.

Earlier than hitting the street, we grabbed a chew to eat on the meals counter. The menu options grilled cheese sandwiches made with curds or your selection of cheese, in your selection of bread. We went with the curd grilled cheese on marbled rye and liked the oozy, barely chewy texture. Different choices embrace pizza, quesadillas, soup, and deep-fried curds. The gentle serve and laborious scoop ice lotions are made with native milk, and you may create customized sundaes or shakes from a slew of enjoyable toppings and mix-ins.

Ellsworth Creamery cheese curd grilled cheese / Picture by Stacy Brooks

A Scrumptious Household Journey By way of Wisconsin

Our street journey stops at creameries had been clearly scrumptious — we’re nonetheless pondering of these grilled cheeses, plus the contemporary curds, gouda, and blueberry cheddar we introduced house as edible souvenirs. However this sort of street journey provides households much more. Stopping by Marieke Gouda, Scray Cheese, and Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery took us behind the scenes to observe how cheese is made. On the finish of all of it, you permit with deeper appreciation for the laborious work and technical ability that Wisconsin cheesemakers put into every block of cheddar and wheel of gouda.

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Concerning the Writer: Stacy Brooks is a Minneapolis-based freelance journalist who has coated meals and journey for 10 years. Her writing has been printed in over 35 native and nationwide shops together with Fodor’s, Wine Fanatic, Enterprise Insider, Thrillist, and the Minnesota Star Tribune. She blogs at tangledupinfood.com and is on Instagram @_tangledupinfood.

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