The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin

John Moran

some wisconsin cheese plants don’t deal with retail operations. Customers can be a hassle—they introduce a whole new layer of work to the business. Other plants have retail stores, but they’re deliberately small, just a counter and a list of prices. Then there are stores—fewer than you might hope—that throw their doors open to the community. Stop by the Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company in Rudolph, and you can buy one of dozens—perhaps hundreds—of cheeses for sale. You can hang out at one of the comfortable tables and watch cheese being made through the massive picture window that dominates the room. And you can munch on an ice-cream cone made with Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, one of Madison’s Wnest premium dairy exports. “The cash sales here was dad’s gift back to the dairy industry,” master cheesemaker John Moran says. “He always liked talking to people and seeing people and having people coming in—it’s basically advertising. You give a good product for a reasonable price, and it keeps people coming back.” Community and family come up time and time again when Moran talks about his work. “We still have a core group of friends here for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas,” Moran says. “They still come back home, and it’s nothing for anywhere from Wve to ten couples to go out. We keep in touch.” 169 John Moran Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company, Rudolph, Wisconsin phone (715) 435-3144 QW Master of cheddar and colby When there’s a family function, two can go, and one has to stay here. That is part of the family business. One of us has to stay back just in case something happens. C Ch he ee es se e C Cu ur rd ds s The squeaky, salty, milky, sometimes deep-fried treats known as cheese curds are not typical of most of the curd used in the pressing and making of cheese. They’re typically the result of the old-fashioned cheddaring process, which uses the stacking, cutting, and milling of melted curd to produce drier, more substantial curds that make for good aged cheddar or straight-up snacking. Curds go downhill in quality fairly quickly, losing their puttylike texture, moisture, and natural squeak. Many cheese plants rush a batch out the door fairly early in the morning, such that the stores and gas stations they supply have curds on hand that are typically no more than a day or two old. The cheese plant and its friendly, open retail space help keep people connected. “Friends from the grade ahead of me and friends from the grade behind me come to the cheese factory,” Moran says. “If they want to get in touch with somebody and they’re not sure how to do it, they’ll ask, because maybe I can give them a lead.” The setup helps the plant keep in touch with its dairy patrons, as well. “With our cash sales, a lot of our farmers are our friends,” he adds. “We have one of the most beautiful cash sales you’ll ever see, run by Jill, my sister, and father, Mike. With the nice observation windows, when they come in, they’ll wave or we’ll wave, or we’ll go out and we’ll talk. Sometimes we’ll talk about farming, sometimes we’ll talk about deer hunting or Wshing, or sometimes we’ll talk about the crops or the weather, you know. . . . It’s just nice to see ’em.” The plant’s community roots run deep. Moran’s grandfather worked at the factory back in the ’40s, and bought it when it was little bigger than a ranch house. “It was basically a make room, a boiler, and that kind of stu¤— it was very small,” Moran says. “He had some sons and daughters and, well, that was back in the late 1940s, early ’50s. He started Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company. Then in the 1960s, his two sons—Mike, who’s my father, and Dave—became part of the ownership.” As Mike and Dave got older and more experienced, the plant grew with them. “We started adding on, and adding on, and in the late 1970s we actually built a brand new cheese factory,” Moran says. “Then when we built a new cheese factory, we went from the old make method of the open vats to the Double O’s and Wnishing tables and that...