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Prairie Breeze Cheddar gets its stellar flavor from high-quality milk

By Lincoln Broadbooks

Special to The Star

October 13, 2016 08:00 AM

Prairie Breeze Cheddar is made with milk from small Amish dairies, where the grass-fed cows are raised without artificial hormones.
Prairie Breeze Cheddar is made with milk from small Amish dairies, where the grass-fed cows are raised without artificial hormones.
Prairie Breeze Cheddar is made with milk from small Amish dairies, where the grass-fed cows are raised without artificial hormones.

October is American Cheese Month. The American Cheese Society says, “American Cheese Month is a celebration of North America’s delicious and diverse cheeses, and the farmers, cheesemakers, retailers, cheesemongers and chefs who bring them to your table.”

So I thought I would bring a different cheese to Chow Town readers every day in October. Stay tuned to see what delicious cheeses North America has to offer! There are sure to be some classic favorites and new must-haves that will suit everyone’s tastes.

Prairie Breeze Cheddar

Producer: Milton Creamery

Place: Milton, Iowa

Milk: Cow

Type: Hard

Prairie Breeze is part of what I call the “Mid-America Trinity of Cheddar.” OK, that’s a little much, but let’s just go with it. The next two days I will round out the trinity with Cottonwood Cheddar and Flory’s Truckle.

Prairie Breeze is a great cheddar that has found wide appeal outside of the Midwest. The flavor is intense but not just sharp: It is at once sharp, tangy, sweet and fruity. The texture is creamy, crumbly and crunchy.

I have been to several places outside of the Midwest that feature Prairie Breeze in a grilled cheese sandwich. It is interesting enough to eat with just crackers and maybe some apple slices.

The Musser family runs Milton Creamery. They are Mennonite, but they collect milk from surrounding Amish dairies to make their cheese. These dairies are small, and the cows are raised without artificial growth hormones. The cows eat grass for as long as possible; in the winter, their diet is supplemented with feed. The high-quality milk translates into great cheese.

Lincoln Broadbooks loves cheese. He is one of the first cheesemongers in the United States and Canada to become an American Cheese Society certified cheese professional. He is the manager and buyer for The Better Cheddar in Prairie Village. You can find him on Twitter @LincolnBbooks and on Instagram @lincycheese.

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