John Epprecht of Great Lakes Cheese to receive Life Member Award.

Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) and Center for Dairy Research (CDR) officials formed new partnerships with the U.S. Dairy Export Council, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board to deliver more diversity and depth of programming than ever before at the 2018 International Cheese Technology Expo (ICTE), set for April 17-19, 2018, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee.

Alive and ever-changing, microbes are responsible for everything from the safety of cheese to its flavor development during ripening. In fact, microbes in the form of starter culture, or adjunct bacteria/fungi, are ultimately responsible for turning milk into an almost endless array of cheese varieties.

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.

In northwest Wisconsin, about 25 miles from the Minnesota border, Schuman Cheese makes award-winning cheeses with techniques borrowed from French and Italian cheesemakers.