WESTBY, Wis. – Hidden Springs Creamery’s flagship farmstead cheese recently earned a top spot in the March Madness of American cheese, placing in the Sweet 16 of top cheeses at the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
Ocooch Mountain, a raw milk cheese handcrafted by cheesemaker Brenda Jensen at her Wisconsin sheep dairy, earned a gold medal and scored high enough to compete in the prestigious final round at the nation’s largest technical cheese contest. Aged six months, Ocooch Mountain is a nutty sheep’s milk cheese made in a 3-pound wheel. Jensen describes it as a “sheep’s milk salute to aged Parmesan.”
In addition, three additional Hidden Springs Creamery cheeses claimed medals at the contest. Driftless, a fresh, creamy and spreadable sheep’s milk cheese, earned a gold medal in Maple flavor, and a silver medal for Honey Lavender. A fourth cheese, Timber Coulee, a French-style mountain cheese with a natural rind, earned a bronze medal.
The United States Championship Cheese Contest, held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is the largest technical evaluation of cheese and butter in the country and is rooted in more than 120 years of history. In recent years, the event has flourished, more than doubling in size since 2001. This year, 1,702 cheeses were entered into 82 categories.
To learn more about Hidden Springs Creamery farmstead cheeses, contact Jensen at 608-606-3840 or email hiddensprings@mwt.net.
Hidden Springs Creamery handcrafts award-winning farmstead cheeses in the heart of Wisconsin’s Amish country. After starting with 50 sheep in 2006, Cheesemaker Brenda Jensen and her husband Dean today milk more than 400 sheep to craft artisan sheep’s milk and mixed-milk cheeses nearly year-round. For more information, visit www.hiddenspringscreamery.com
Source: Hidden Springs Creamery