The Judges Have Spoken

I spent this morning much like I do every weekday morning suppin' coffee and catching some CNN. Much to my surprise, there was a short blurb on the 2006 World Championship Cheese Contest which finished yesterday. Since I work across the street from the Convention Center where the contest was held and consider myself an aspiring turophile, I zipped over there yesterday to check out the scene.

A couple co-workers and I ambled over there around noon only to find that the contest had adjourned for lunch. This left us to try free samples! Out in the main area I had a couple chunks of a very tasty mild cheddar infused with lime & chile. Don't be fooled - this cheese wasn't going to make you breathe fire through your ass. It was nice and mild & pleasant with the additional flavors melding well with the creamy cheese goodness. I also had a bit of brie which was unlike any I'd ever tasted previously. When I popped it into my mouth, it was rather like eating cardboard in that it had a very dry, cottonmouthy thing going. Then this sensation gave way to a very sour taste. Finally, after biting in, my tongue was assailed by the rich and exceptionally creamy brie goodness. Now, I'm not sure what part of the tongue registers creaminess but this stuff sent every taste bud involved into ecstasy.

We didn't stick around too long and I decided to come back after 1 when the super-cage match final judging would begin. Walking towards the stairs, I noticed a room nearly devoid of people but bursting with cheese. A judging had been held there and a table was littered with samples of cheeses that didn't make it to the final round.











Oh mama! Just look at those blue veins! Mmmm...blue-veined cheese...mmm...

I went back to work and then headed back over for a brief spell after 1 to catch some of the final judging. The media was out in full force. (Well, not really but I like to think so.)



Beatifully-adorned tables had the contestants on display.





Here's how it went down:

The nice judges in their clean white coats (ha-ha) were to be found gathered 'round a table.



And then one of them would powerlift a big-ass hoolie of cheese above his head so everyone knew which variety was going to be scrutinized.



Judges then greedily start removing a section of the cheese's casing so they can bore core samples for tasting.



Here's a shot of the cheesetaster's toolkit.



All the while a pair of announcers informed the crowd of what was happening.



For instance, they explained that Monterey Jack is an American cheese first made out in Monterey, California by David Jacks. And when the Co-Jack was judged, I learned that "Co-Jack" is a trademarked name like Kleenex and that it's technically a marbled curd cheese. They also noted that Wisconsin was the first state to grade its cheese for quality and this was back in 1921.

Each of the judges would get a sample and then mill around with funny looks on their faces and judging sheets in hand. They took in the texture and flavors of the cheese, often stopping to look at the floor so as to concentrate.



Here's some other sights.

Here comes the provelone!



Now, I think #2814 was made with basil.



People out in the hall had a live feed of the action.



Finally, here's probably the most ginormous wheel of cheese I've ever seen in person.



For a full list of the contest's results, head over to this page. If you just want to check out the medal winners, here ya go. Looking over this list, I'm surprised at how few cheeses from California there are. Were they few in number this year? Or do they just make mediocre cheese? As I mentioned previously, Wisconsin kicked ass in the Unsalted Butter category with Grassland Dairy taking all 3 spots. As for Madison, well, we got one award. The Third Award for Hard Sheep's Milk Cheese went to the Babcock Dairy Plant.

For more information on Wisconsin cheese, head here. Also note that Brennan's Markets carry the winning cheeses. In fact, I think they have some kind of exclusive deal to do so, but don't quote me on that.