SDSU at 2006 World Championship Cheese Contest

The 2006 World Championship Cheese Contest was recently held in Madison, Wisconsin and the SDSU Dairy Science Department was well represented. Four of the 19 expert judges at the contest had an affiliation with the South Dakota State University Dairy Science Department. This is the world’s largest competition to determine the World Champion Cheese and Cheese Maker as the best of the best and is held every two years. Cheese makers and butter makers that submit their very best products to be evaluated by a panel of international judges that look for the best characteristics of flavor, body and texture as well as appearance, and deduct points from a perfect score of 100 in 0.10 increments for defects that are identified as very slight, slight, definite and pronounced. This years contest featured a record 1,792 entries from 18 nations around the globe. Christian Wuthrich of Dudingen, Switzerland was named the 2006 Grand Champion for a wheel of Swiss Emmantaler Premier.

It is truly an honor to be selected to serve on the judging panel that included experts from France, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, and the United States. Among this year’s team of judges with a SDSU connection were:

Bob Baer of Brookings SD (left) , a professor of Dairy Science at South Dakota State University and Coach of the SDSU Dairy Products Judging Team since 1988.

Mark Johnson a native of Milbank, SD (second from left) is a Senior Scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research in Madison, WI. Mark is a respected expert in both the chemistry and microbiology of cheese. In 2002, he was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research. He has served as a panelist and judge at several regional cheese contests and was a judge at the 2005 United States Championship Cheese Contest. Mark is a ‘76 M.S. graduate of the SDSU Dairy Science Department.

Tim Czmowski of Milbank, SD (third from left), Senior Cheese Technologist and Sales Representative for CPS Scherping of Winsted, MN, specializes in assisting cheese makers with recipe improvements and cheese plant designs with a background of 20 years cheesemaking experience. He serves as an official judge for the National Collegiate Cheddar Cheese Contest, was a Best of Class cheesemaker in the 1999 US Championship Contest, and has been involved as a judge for the US and World Championship Contests since 1995, currently serving as an Assistant Chief Judge since 2005. Tim is a ‘85 B.S. graduate of the SDSU Dairy Science Department.

Richard DeRouchey a native of Mitchell, SD (fourth from left) was the winner of the 2005 National Collegiate Dairy Products Judging Contest placing first overall in the All Products division of the competition. Richard also won the SD State FFA Dairy Products judging contest in 2004. In the World Contest he worked alongside expert panelists as an associate judge, learning from several judging teams from around the world. Richard is a Dairy Manufacturing student in the SDSU Dairy Science Department.

The contest with great tradition traces its roots back to 1957, when the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association held its first World Cheddar Championship Contest. From its start as a cheddar competition, the event has grown to accept cheese and butter in more than 50 classes, including cow, goat, and sheep’s milk cheeses. Cheese and butter entries in the 2006 Contest were submitted by: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Craftsmen at 367 cheese and butter making farmsteads and factories around the world sent entries this year and ranged in size from single farms producing artisanal cheese to the largest cheese manufacturing plants. Many of the cheeses submitted were made under the guidance of SDSU Dairy Science alumni such as Tim Hesby, ’94 B.S. graduate of the SDSU Dairy Science Department and Plant Manager for the Glanbia Foods Cheese Plant of Twin Falls, ID that won an impressive 3 gold medals as the Best of Class in the Mild Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Pepper Cheese classes.

The wide variety of cheese styles and butter evaluated were as follows: Cheddar - Mild, Medium, Sharp and Extra Sharp, Colby, Monterey Jack, Marbled Curd Cheese, Swiss, Mozzarella, Mozzarella part skim, Provolone, Ricotta, Baby Swiss, Feta, Havarti, Edam, Gouda, Gorgonzola, Fresh Mozzarella, Blue Veined Cheeses, Brick / Muenster, Brie / Camembert, Quesos Frescos, Quesos para Fundir, Smear Ripened Cheeses, Pepper Flavored Cheeses, Open Class for Flavored Soft Cheeses, Open Class for Flavored Semi-Soft Cheeses, Open Class for Flavored Hard Cheeses, Open Class for Soft Cheese, Reduced Fat Cheese, Low fat cheese, Cold Pack Cheese, Snack Cheese, Spreadable Cheese, Flavored Spreadable Cheese, Pasteurized Process Cheese, Flavored Pasteurized Process Cheese, Soft Goat’s Milk Cheese, Flavored Soft Goat’s Milk Cheese, Semi-soft Goat’s Milk Cheese, Hard Goat’s Milk Cheese, Soft & Semi-soft Sheep’s Milk Cheese, Hard Sheep’s Milk Cheese, Mixed Milk Cheese, Salted Butter, Unsalted Butter, and Whipped Butter.

South Dakota State University / Dairy Science Department
Dairy Microbiology Rm 109 / Phone: 605-688-4116
College of Agricultural and Biological Sciences