If you want a break from current events, imagine a peaceful nation whose citizens just want to get along, make friends and eat cheese. Such a place exists, if you can believe it, and it’s called Cheeselandia. I just learned about it and I have a passport already. If you like Wisconsin cheese, or at least want to know more about it, the border patrol will let you in.
Funded by the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, this clever promotion aims to build a community of “loud and proud lovers of cheese.” Cheeselandians enjoy free classes on topics like how to craft a cheese board, plus quarterly virtual events with free cheese and accompaniments for 300 participants.
With plant-based dairy on the rise and dairy farming getting a bad rap in some quarters, cheese can use a support group. You have to apply for Cheeselandia citizenship, but it’s free and everybody’s welcome as far as I can tell.
Cheeselandia members have access to virtual School of Cheese classes (I watched a lively one on pairings) and to quarterly tastings, which the organizers call “house parties.” Through a lottery, 300 members receive a shipment of cheese and other goodies for the virtual tasting. How fun is that?
According to spokesperson Rachel Kerr, Cheeselandia currently has more than 1,500 citizens from all 50 states. “It has grown through word of mouth,” says Kerr. “It’s not something we advertise. It’s for people who are passionate about learning more and connecting with others with that mindset.” A new app allows Cheeselandians to engage with each other online over their shared interest in the world of cheese.
Wisconsin gem: Landmark Creamery Anabasque
Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin represents only cow’s milk cheeses, so Cheeselandia is not an equal-opportunity nation. The state does produce some excellent sheep and goat cheeses, but in relative terms they’re like a flea on an elephant.
Carr Valley Cheese is probably the winningest producer in Wisconsin, with more ribbons for more cheeses than the creamery can count. Cheesemaker Sid Cook got his cheesemaking license at the age of 16. His blue cheeses are always buttery and mellow, but with Glacier Penta Creme (top picture, with François Doucet raspberry jellies) he has surpassed himself. This cream-added blue is beyond luscious. Taste it with me on Tuesday, April 12, in my “American All Stars” class, along with outstanding cheeses from six other states.
My Wisconsin All-Star cheese board would certainly include a blue from Carr Valley, along with Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve, LaClare Farms Cave-Aged Chandoka, Hook’s Triple Play Extra Innings and Landmark Creamery Anabasque. Not a balanced assortment, but a great one. If you spot any of these gems at a cheese counter, don’t pass them up.