June 15, 2012
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Carr Valley cheesemakers continue to innovate, add to winning lineup
New cow’s milk Blues are latest introductions

GOT THE BLUES? — Made from the fresh milk of pasture-grazed Wisconsin goats, Carr Valley’s award-winning Billy Blue is known for its distinctive blue flavor and creamy texture.

CREATIVE LICENSE — Mobay is Sid Cook’s take on the French cheese, Morbier, a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese with a black layer of ash in the middle. Carr Valley’s Mobay features a layer of sheep’s milk cheese and a layer of goat’s milk cheese separated by a layer of grape vine ash and pressed together.

By Kate Sander

LA VALLE, Wis. — Sid Cook, known as an integral part of the American Originals cheese movement, started his career as a cheesemaker in an era where Cheddar was king and goat’s and sheep’s milk cheeses were largely shunned — if they were even heard of.

In fact, back when Cook, owner of Carr Valley Cheese, made his first goat and cow’s mixed-milk cheese in 1998, it was hard work to get people to buy it.

“We gave away more than we sold,” Cook says.

That’s a far cry from 2012. Today, goat’s milk and mixed-milk cheeses can and do win awards over their straight cow’s milk competitors and specialty cheeses generate a buzz in restaurants, on store shelves, in magazines and on TV. The last 30 years have been years of tremendous growth and change not only for Cook and his business, but for the industry as a whole.

A fourth generation cheesemaker who literally grew up in his parents’ cheese plant, Cook and his brother were among the many Wisconsin cheesemakers in the late 1970s and early 1980s making “typical” cheeses like Cheddar and curds. They were good cheeses, but they were largely undifferentiated.

In the mid-80s, Cook bought out his brother’s portion of the family business, and then sold Irish Valley Cheese and bought Carr Valley Cheese in La Valle. At the new plant, with its retail store and a greater diversity of customers, Cook saw the potential to specialize, but the industry and consumers weren’t yet ready.

Cook purchased his Mauston, Wis., plant in 1993 and was able to diversify from Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Muenster and Colby by adding Gouda and Fontina. Later, he also would purchase a plant in Fennimore, Wis. He began experimenting more. After trying some goat’s milk cheeses and finding some to be quite horrible, Cook found himself thinking, “I can do better.” At about the same time, he went on a cruise where he tried a mixed-milk cheese from Greece that he was enamored by.

“I liked the complexity and wanted to try it, so I did,” Cook says. Pleased with the results of some of the early experimentation, Cook kept creating. At first, much of his experimentation was only noticed by consumers who stopped at the company’s retail stores and by the handful of chefs with whom Cook was working. Eventually, though, customers began to appreciate the unique cheeses they had before them. At the same time, the economy was booming and consumers’ interest in travel and specialty cheeses was growing. More specialty cheesemakers began to go into business. It was the right time and right place for Cook to dramatically expand his offerings. And as consumers nationwide have become more aware and interested in specialty cheeses over the last decade, Carr Valley has carved itself a large niche in the industry, both as a creator of specialty originals as well as the giver of practical advice to cheesemakers just starting out.

“Wisconsin is making 600 varieties of cheese again,” he says. “It’s like it used to be. Plant diversity is back.”

• Fifty one-of-a-kinds

Cook is credited as being the creator of more than 50 American Originals, cheeses that are described as having been invented in America.

That doesn’t mean the cheeses aren’t inspired by other countries, but they all have their own unique twists such as Mobay, Cook’s take on the French cheese, Morbier, a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese with a black layer of ash in the middle. Cook’s Mobay features a layer of sheep’s milk cheese and a layer of goat’s milk cheese separated by a layer of grape vine ash and pressed together.

All told, the company offers about 80 varieties of cheeses ranging from cheese curds to bandaged-wrapped Cheddars to hard mixed-milk cheeses.

The company’s best known creations include Black Sheep Truffle, Cave Aged Marisa, and Smoked Ba Ba Blue made from sheep’s milk; Baraboo Blue, Chevre au Lait and Cocoa Cardona made from goat’s milk; Bread Cheese, Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar, and Apple Smoked Cheddar made from cow’s milk; and Canaria, Gran Canaria, Menage, Mobay, and Shepherd’s Blend made from mixed milk.

Cook, who holds Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker certifications in Cheddar and Fontina as well as two of his American Originals, Gran Canaria and Mobay, says he doesn’t have a favorite cheese.

When asked, he lists off at least a half dozen favorites, with attributes he loves about each of them.

Asking him to choose just one is like asking him to name his favorite child, he says.

One might think that after developing 50-some cheeses, Cook could be close to running out of

ideas. However, Cook and his team of cheesemakers — which includes Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Tom Jenny as well as 12 other licensed cheesemakers — are continuously experimenting, looking for categories where there are opportunities.

Sometimes someone has an idea that they want to try. Sometimes customers ask for something different — like Whole Foods asking for the Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar —which leads to experimentation and new creations. And sometimes even a production error results in a new cheese.

“Sometimes we make a mistake, and we can turn it around and make it into a marketable product people like,” Cook says.

• Expanding Blue production

Recent introductions by the company include Bread Cheese in Chipotle, Jalapeno and Garlic flavors, and new Blue cheeses.

Since purchasing the Linden, Wis., plant (known as Glacier Point)last year, Cook has been able to focus more on Blue cheeses. The company had already been making cheese for Carr Valley, and the acquisition was a good fit for both companies, Cook says. The plant allows Cook, who previously only dabbled in Blue production, to get more hands on without the concern that molds used in the Blue cheeses will contaminate other products.

The first introductions to the company’s new Blue line are named after the plant. Glacier Blue, a 100 percent cow’s milk cheese, is described as having a silky and refined texture, and being slightly piquant, with a clean pleasant finish. The company also is introducing Glacier Gorgonzola and Glacier PentaCreme, a cow’s milk cheese using five cans of cream in the vat. In addition, the company continues to make Blue cheeses such as Billy Blue and Ba Ba Blue using goat’s and sheep’s milk.

Arguably the most decorated cheese company in America with more than 400 top awards in U.S. and international competitions in the last five years alone, Carr Valley’s most recent awards include two best of class awards in the World Championship Cheese Contest this spring: one in the Flavored Soft and Semi-Soft Sheep’s Milk class for its Black Sheep Truffle and one in the Surface-Ripened Sheep’s Milk class for its Cave Aged Marisa.

The company produces about 4 million pounds of cheese annually, and cheeses can be found at restaurants throughout the country, as well as at retail, including the company’s own stores. Currently Carr Valley operates seven retail stores, both on site at plant locations as well as separate locations in Middleton, Sauk City, Wisconsin Dells and Mauston.

CMN