Wisconsin once again proved how great its cheese is at the 2023 World Cheese Awards
Wisconsin is world-renowned for it's cheese — and it has the hardware to prove it.
The Badger State brought home a full 25% of the awards at the 2023 World Cheese Awards in Norway in October, according to a press release from the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.
Over 4,000 cheeses were entered into the competition from over 40 countries. They were judged by teams of technical experts, buyers, retailers and food writers.
"More than 180 years ago, our ancestors chose Wisconsin because the territory reminded them of the homes they'd left behind in Northern Europe, allowing for the tradition of expert farming and cheesemaking to grow and flourish," said Suzanne Fanning, chief marking officer for Wisconsin Cheese and senior vice president for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. "Wisconsin continues to call to national and international artisans alike, and we are so very proud of the rich, flavorful award-winning cheeses that are produced here."
There were multiple Wisconsin winners, but most notably was the 12 rankings brought home by Marieke Gouda from Thorp — the most awards for any U.S. competitor. Owner Marieke Penterman was born and raised in the Netherlands on her parents' dairy farm and trained to be a cheesemaker in Wisconsin and Holland where she learned to make her award-winning gouda.
Other winning Wisconsin cheese producers were:
Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or 262-289-1324.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin cheesemakers, Marieke Gouda win big at World Cheese Awards
