Have you ever wondered why some cheddar is white and others are yellow? According to Tony Hook, owner of Hooks Cheese, it’s a matter of competition. Over 100 years ago, when Wisconsin was overtaking New York as the dairy state, Wisconsin dairy farmers were trying to differentiate their product from what was in New York. They did so with annatto. “Try ours,” says Hook of the sales pitch. “Ours is orange, theirs is white.”
Wisconsin overtook both New York and the entire country in dairy production. “If Wisconsin was a nation, we’d be the third-largest producer in the world,” says Hook. Today, Hooks Cheese still uses annatto to color its bestselling 5-year cheddar. They start by pasteurizing local milk from cows raised on the limestone-rich soil of southwestern Wisconsin, which Hook says gives the cheese a distinct flavor. The milk is heated with starter culture and color and left to thicken as the bacteria grows. From there, curds begin to form.
It takes about 10 pounds of milk for every pound of cheese, with the remaining liquid whey being used for fertilizer. And while Hook says the 5-year cheddar remains popular with both restaurants and home cooks, he’s been having fun producing some newer products. No after what, he loves seeing customers’ reactions at the farmers market. “It’s satisfaction with knowing you’ve made something.”
Watch the latest episode of Handmade to learn how Hooks Cheese produces its signature cheddar, and is experimenting with new products as well.
