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The Masters of Northwestern Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin Press
- Chapter
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The Masters of northwestern wisconsin !@ QW MINNESOTA M i s s i ssippi River Osseo Durand Hudson Chetek Nekoosa Arcadia W Mondovi Spooner Medford Altoona Spencer Rudolph Rudolph Alpha Alpha Somerset Somerset Jim Falls Jim Falls Granton Granton Baldwin Stanley Cameron Phillips Tomahawk New Richmond Whitehall Ellsworth Prescott Rice Lake Ladysmith Cornell Stratford Abbotsford Neillsville Black River Falls St. Croix Falls St. Germain Unity Fountain City Minocqua Plover Plover Wausau Wausau Weston Weston Menomonie Menomonie Marshfield Marshfield River Falls River Falls Chippewa Falls Chippewa Falls St. Paul Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids Eau Claire Eau Claire 8 8 8 53 53 53 10 10 12 10 51 51 39 94 94 178 70 70 87 13 13 73 13 13 64 34 64 97 35 27 27 54 27 29 4 6 1 3 2 7 5 Northwestern WI Somerset Scott Erickson Jim Falls Richard Wold Stanley Randy LaGrander Alpha Bruce Willis, Steven Tollers Rudolph John Moran Spencer Vern Kind Granton David Lindgren 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 0 10 20 miles 10 20 kilometers [54.224.90.25] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 16:40 GMT) distances in northwestern wisconsin feel longer than in other parts of the state, the beginning of a process that meets its logical conclusion in the increasingly empty Plains and western states of North Dakota and Montana. The population starts to dwindle and spread out as you head north and west, moving toward the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers and away from the population centers of Milwaukee, Fox Valley, Madison, and Green Bay. It’s not surprising, therefore, that northwestern Wisconsin has some cheese plants that are, in e¤ect, community centers. The Burnett Dairy Cooperative in Alpha is halfway between Hudson and Superior, and it bustles with life and activity throughout the week. Bass Lake Cheese Factory (near Hudson) and the Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company (near Wausau) are also lively, with their sprawling shops that invite customers to stay awhile and browse, as is LaGrander’s Hillside Dairy (near Chippewa Falls), with visitors as well as three generations of the LaGrander family working in the plant. Some cheese giants do their work in this part of the state as well. Land O’Lakes (near MarshWeld) and Associated Milk Producers, Inc. (near Chippewa Falls) deal with milk by the millions of pounds per day. The northwestern part of the state is also the birthplace of colby, a venerable Wisconsin original cheese that was Wrst created near the town of the same name. The cheese has its origins in the Steinwand Factory, opened in 1882, and although there is plenty of dispute as to the exact date and circumstances of its creation, the cheese— in its original form—was deWnitely a more moist and open-textured incarnation of cheddar. Real colby doesn’t involve the labor-intensive cheddaring process that makes real cheddar such a bear to deal with, although it does involve an extra curd-washing step during the make. Four of the nine Wisconsin masters who claim colby among their areas of expertise live in the northwestern part of the state: John Moran, Bruce Willis, Randy LaGrander, and Scott Erickson. - = 151 Cinnamon-rubbed butter jack from Bass Lake Cheese Factory. ...