Cheeses of the United States
As you are now well aware, we have spent the first half of the year here at Homage traveling the world to various cheese producing countries, exploring the vast array of cheeses that they offer cheese lovers everywhere. This month we start to explore the cheeses of North America, or more specifically, the U. S.
While cheese making in America has been around for some time, most American traditions were brought here by the immigrants and settlers from Europe who came here to stake their claim in "the New World." As Americans have developed a deeper appreciation for great cheese, a change in American cheesemaking has also occurred. Across the country, small scale dairy farmers and cheesemakers are making wonderful artisanal cheeses that rival those of Europe. Take heart my friends, in recent years, there has been a boon in small, local cheesemakers, all making their mark in the cheese world with 'American' versions of traditional and classic, old world cheeses. Some have even been award winners at National and International competitions. Fear not either, as we will not be covering anything to do with those slices of 'cheese product,' whatever that may be, wrapped in plastic, that have become the image of 'American Cheese.'
There are some wonderful things happening in the world of U.S. cheesemaking, from little farms in New Jersey, explosions of various cheeses from California, to those traditional American producers in Vermont and Wisconsin. The field has become so vast, in fact, the choices so numerous, we will be covering this as a multi part series over the last half of this year, breaking features down by state or region. To that end we will start with;
"The Cheeses of California"
California Cheesemaking History
Cheesemaking came to California in the 1750s, when Spanish Missionary, Father Junipero Serra introduced dairy cows and cheesemaking to the few settlers and natives. California’s population exploded as the gold rush drew new settlers from across the nation. In the fallout of this population boom, many ended up in the dairy and cheesemaking industry. In 1860, California boasted 100,000 head of dairy cattle. Only three years later, the first commercial dairy opened.
This history of cheesemaking has continued to the present day. In 1993, California’s milk production reached an astonishing 25 billion pounds, making California the United State’s leading milk producer. As we have heard from the numerous TV campaigns, California indeed has "Happy Cows."
Thanks to its diverse terrain and climates, cows, goats, and sheep all flourish in California and this allows cheesemakers to produce a wide range of different cheese styles. The state produces almost a quarter of all the cheese produced in the U.S., using up 47% of the state's milk production. There is no shortage of award-winning cheeses and with more than 50 cheesemakers producing 250 different varieties and styles of cheese, those accolades show no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
California has a rich cheesemaking heritage reaching back more than 200 years. We have included here, some of the milestones in California’s development as the leading milk producing and second largest cheese producing state in America.
California Cheese Facts
In the 1750s, Father Junipero Serra began to establish the 21 missions that still dot the California coastline. He introduced many varieties of fruits and vegetables, including grapes, and layed the foundation for the agriculture industry in California. He also introduced dairy cows and cheesemaking.
California exported its first cheese when Ivan Kuskov, a commander at the Russian trading post in Fort Ross, California, shipped his Sonoma-made cheese to Russia’s Alaska settlements. Then in the wake of the Gold Rush, pioneers rushed into California, many with dairy cows tied behind covered wagons that would provide milk for infants and children. California’s milk cow population swelled to 100,000 by 1860. That growing milk 
supply stimulated cheese production, which totaled 1.3 million pounds that year.
Instrumental in the formation of an actual cheese industry, the Steele family began operating what is arguably the country’s first commercial dairy. Clara Steele, a pioneer woman whose family settled near San Francisco, was hungry for the Cheddar she enjoyed in her native New England. She obtained milk from wild cattle and began to make cheese, using recipes from her grandmother’s old cookbook. Within a year, her husband and relatives started selling “Steele Brothers” Cheddar in San Francisco and other nearby markets. They started a 6,000-acre dairy farm on Point Reyes. Their 1861 production of 45 tons of cheese made them the highest producers of cheese in the state that year. A bizarre twist here is the story of the family pooling milk from all of 
their dairies and producing the biggest wheel of cheese ever seen in California – a 21,800-pound Cheddar, 20 feet in circumference and 18 inches thick. Pieces were sold at the Mechanics Fair in San Francisco for a dollar per pound, all to raise money for charity.
The Shafter and Howard families owned the entire Point Reyes peninsula, and began leasing individual plots to European immigrants to run dairies. Their empire grew to 31 dairy ranches, and is known for producing the highest quality dairy products, even to this day. They were the first to trademark and stamp their butter in an attempt to combat counterfeit imitations being sold. This may have been the first attempt in California to brand a product.
At this point in time, the cheese that has become the 'poster cheese' for California, "Monteray Jack" was born. David Jacks, a businessman in Monterey County, was the first to market Monterey Jack, which his Swiss and Portuguese dairymen developed from old mission recipes. It has become one of 
the most popular cheeses in the country. In an effort to raise production standards for California cheesemakers, the California legislature passed a cheese grading law requiring that all cheese manufactured in the state be graded and labeled according to new butterfat content standards set by the State Dairy Bureau. As a result, California cheese reached higher quality levels over the next decade. The Bureau also began issuing brand names to manufacturers.
Dry Jack was created when a San Francisco cheese wholesaler, D.F. DeBernardi, left an order of fresh Monterey Jack in storage for too long. Later, when World War I interrupted shipments of Parmesan and Romano from Italy, he discovered that aging had caused the Jack to harden and acquire a sweet, nutty flavor. Italian-American families quickly adopted this delicious alternative to the Italian hard cheeses they were not able to get. By the 1930s, an estimated 60 California cheesemakers were producing Dry Jack.
In an attempt to recreate Teleme, a Feta-like cheese found in Greece and nearby countries, Greek immigrants near San Francisco created an entirely new cheese from fresh cow’s milk – California Teleme. This unique semi-soft cheese has a distinctive rice flour rind.
To ensure consumers receive the highest quality cheese, California became the first state to establish cheese standards of identity where USDA standards did not exist. The California dairy industry created the Real California Cheese seal to certify that the consumer is purchasing a natural cheese, made in California, exclusively from California milk. The state’s milk production then reached 25 billion pounds, making California the leading milk producer in the country. Nearly 4 out of every 10 gallons of milk produced goes to California cheesemakers. Under the direction of the California Milk Advisory Board, (CMAB) the state dairy industry then undertook the largest promotional program to that date to promote Real California Cheese to consumers. Highlighting the campaign were a series of humorous television spots claiming California’s cheese is the real reason people have come to the state to live and visit.
The CMAB launched a new television advertising campaign based around the theme, “Great Cheese Comes from Happy Cows. Happy Cows Come from California.” The CMAB became a national marketer when the “Happy Cows” campaign appeared on network TV for the first time, encouraging requests for Real California Cheese as far away as the East Coast. California cow’s milk cheese producers took home 31 awards from the prestigious national American Cheese Society competition, including “Best in Show.” California cheesemakers also won six awards at the World Cheese Awards in London.
I was surprised to discover that California is the leading dairy state in the U. S. The state produced 2.11 billion pounds of cheese in 2008 and is the second-largest cheese-producing state in the America accounting for nearly a quarter of all the cheese produced in the U.S. While most Americans assume that Vermont and Wisconsin are the 'cheese states' of the U.S., Californians would certainly challenge that theory. Again I will remind you all, that space and time preclude us from including all the wonderful cheeses available from the state, so we will cover the most well known and the most popular. We hope this gives you the inspiration to explore California cheeses for yourself.
They also are the country’s largest milk producer and in 2008 produced 41.2 billion pounds and 43% of all California cow’s milk goes to make California cheese.
The Cheeses
Andante Nocturne |
Barely Buzzed  |
Bravo Farms Silver Mountain  |
| Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk  |
Cypress Grove Chevre Humboldt Fog  |
Cypress Grove Lamb Chopper  |
| Cypress Grove Midnight Moon  |
Cypress Grove Purple Haze Chevre  |
Fiscalini 18 Month Bandage Wrapped Cheddar  |
| Goat Cheddar by Cypress Grove  |
Point Reyes Original Blue  |
Rouge et Noir Triple Creme Brie  |
San Joaquin Gold  |
Schlosskranz by Rouge et Noir  |
SeaHive |
| Serena by Three Sisters Farmstead  |
Vella Special Select Dry Monterey Jack  |
Yellow Buck Camembert by Rouge et Noir  |
Sources
thenibble.com,farmland.org
All the cheeses found in this article are from www.igourmet.com, and we highly recommend them for all your gourmet food needs.