Marieke Mature Gouda wins United States Championship Cheese title
Wisconsin cheesemakers won the most medals of any state. Vermont and New York came in second among the states.
A Wisconsin Gouda has been named the 2013 U.S. Championship Cheese. Marieke Penterman, of Holland's Family Cheese, Thorp, Wis., took top honors out of 1,702 entries from 30 states for her Marieke Mature Gouda, aged six to nine months. Out of a possible 100 points, Marieke Gouda scored 98.31 in the final round of judging, during which judges re-evaluated the top 16 cheeses at an evening gala to determine the overall champion.
First runner-up in the contest, with a score of 97.89, is Tarentaise, a semi-hard alpine cheese made by Spring Brook Farm/Farms For City Kids Foundation in Reading, Vermont. Second runner-up is Medium Cheddar, made by Team Cracker Barrel Natural Cheese, Agropur Weyauwega for Kraft Foods in Glenview, Illinois, which scored 97.88.