Best Cheese in the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest

First place out of 1,700 cheeses

US Champion

Holland's Family Cheese 

Thorp, WI

Marieke Gouda 

Champion Round Score: 98.305 out of 100

Marieke Gouda - in stock at all four locations
Come in for a taste

Marieke® is our signature cheese made with an authentic Old World Gouda recipe. The equipment, cultures, herbs and spices are all imported from Holland. The rBGH free cows milk couldn’t be fresher being piped directly from the first milking of the day directly into the processing vat. The curd is hand packed into 18 pound forms before going under the press. It is then brined for 60 hours. The wheels are then transferred to the special curing room and aged on Dutch pine planks which absorb the liquid as the cheese ages. 

For the first 14 days the cheese is turned (flipped over) daily to ensure that the butterfat is evenly distributed throughout the cheese. The wooden planks are also cleaned daily and turned to prevent molds.  During this time the breathable coating is hand painted on the cheese. After the initial daily turning is complete the cheese is turned twice weekly for as long as it is in our facility.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin Gouda won top honors Wednesday night at the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, edging out entries from Vermont and Illinois.

Marieke Penterman, of Holland's Family Cheese in Thorp, Wis., won the two-day competition in Green Bay with her Marieke Mature Gouda. Out of a possible 100 points, Marieke Gouda scored 98.31 in the final round of judging.....Judges re-evaluated the top 16 cheeses at an evening gala to determine the overall winner.

More than 1,700 cheeses were entered, including pepper-flavored, smoked and sheep cheeses. This year, more than 30,000 pounds of cheese were entered in the contest.
from the Associated Press

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