ASHWAUBENON – The best cheese in the United States isn’t from Wisconsin, but the head cheesemaker is.
An aged Gouda made by Arethusa Farm Dairy in Bantam, Connecticut, was named the best entry in the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest Thursday, but Arethusa’s head cheesemaker, Eric Schmid, is a recent Wisconsin transplant originally hailing from Monticello.
“Europa is a traditional style Gouda. We make it about as traditional as we can,” said Schmid, whose family immigrated from Switzerland in the 1850s. “They might have been making Emmentaler or big wheel Swiss, but it was still hand-made. That’s what really drew me into the artisan side of things.”
Second place went to a vintage cupola American original cheese made by Door Artisan Cheese Co. of Egg Harbor for Red Barn Family Farms in Appleton.
Arethusa Farm Dairy’s Eric Schmid speaks via Zoom after the Bantam, Conn.-based cheesemaker’s aged Gouda called Europa was named winner of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest on Feb. 23, 2023, at the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon, Wis.
‘We hope this honor and this award will draw attention not only to just this great cheese, and the wonderful quality of the cheese, but also to the mission of our brand,” said Paula Homan, co-owner of Red Barn, “… to help support and sustain small family farms and advocate for ethical dairy farming.”
The third-place cheese was a medium cheddar made by Dillon Sylla of Associated Milk Producers Inc. in Blair.
First and third place were separated by 0.185 points. Each cheese begins with 100 points and judges deduct points for defects across a broad range of attributes. Arethusa scored 98.739, Red Barn got a 98.613 and Associated Milk Producers received 98.554. That’s not unusual. The spread for the previous contest, in 2019, was 0.153.
“All of these cheeses were exceptional, within a tenth of a hundredth of a point in some cases,” said Cathy Strange, one of the judges. “That cheese (the Gouda) was the right age, really clean milk, healthy animals on…
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