Cheese

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As consumers continue to seek out food with clean ingredients, protein on the go, freshness and convenience, cheese is the answer to many of those needs. Over the last year, cheese processors have doubled down on portable snack offerings, from cheese bites to snack packs. Hybrid options (think cheese paired with lunch meats, nuts, fruit and pretzels) are popping up everywhere. Portion control and portability are the keys.

Rogue Creamery is an organic artisan cheesemaker from Central Point, Ore., that specializes in producing blue cheese, cheddars and more. Websterville, Vt.-based Vermont Creamery is an artisan cheese company that specializes in fresh and aged goat cheeses, and fresh cow cheeses.

Specialty cheese sales are on the rise, noted Rachel Kerr, director of events and public relations for Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), Madison.

Horizon Organic, a brand of DanoneWave, Broomfield, Colo., launched of a new line of snacking products. Good & Go snack packs feature cheese paired with nuts, dried fruit or pretzels and are packaged in convenient 1.26-ounce packages.

Rojo’s, Buena Park, Calif., expanded its portfolio with a new line of Queso dips. The dips come in two varieties: Salsa Con Queso — sour cream, creamy cotija and cream cheese, mixed with fresh tomatoes, onions and jalapeno peppers; and Queso Blanco — Monterey Jack and cotija cheeses combined with green chiles and jalapenos.

In 2014, Murray’s Cheese in New York City had an idea for a clothbound Cheddar modeled on classic British versions. And this year, after two years of development, the company launched Murray’s Clothbound Cheddar   –  a bright, lemony flavored Cheddar.

Making cheese predates recorded history, but artisan cheesemaking in the U.S. is a relatively new industry. According to a 2016 American Cheese Society (ACS) report, there are more than 900 artisan, farmstead and specialty cheesemakers operating in the United States. While a few artisan cheesemakers have been in business for over 100 years, the average has been making cheese for only 15 years.