Besse the Dairy Cow (photo by Emily Roesly, courtesy of morguefile.com)

There was a time a couple of decades ago when the mention of cheese in the U.S. brought to mind single slices wrapped in plastic. No longer, crafting artisanal cheeses cherished by foodies is now ardently pursued by small producers across America.

Many of those taking up the craft have come from corporate jobs. They’ve opted for rural lifestyles that include plenty of hard work, but in settings they find well-suited to living well and raising families. An article in the Wall Street Journal describes the journey of Brenda Jensen of Wisconsin’s Hidden Springs Creamery. She was once “a manager at a global packaging company” who took the plunge into cheesemaking after “25 years in the corporate world.” At this year's annual American Cheese Society competition, her Hidden Springs Creamery won six awards, including two first-place honors.

Ms. Jensen is hardly alone in her pursuit of cheesemaking perfection. The Journal article says,

According to the American Cheese Society, which represents artisanal and craft cheesemakers, the number of cheesemakers who have joined the organization has more than tripled in the past seven years, from 426 in 2001 to 1,346 in 2007. And cheesemaking has attracted producers from non-food backgrounds. Jeff Roberts, author of "The Atlas of American Cheese," found that almost a third of artisanal cheesemakers in 2006 had come from other careers ranging from doctors to dotcommers.

The article quotes Mike Gingrich of Uplands Cheese Company on the appeal of turning from office to dairy farm, "It's a desire to do something outside of the corporate world, to do something with nature, to do something on your own."

Acccording to the Journal article,

Mr. Gingrich spent several years as an executive at Xerox Corp. and on a venture capital team before settling into the dairy business nine years ago. His Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese won two American Cheese Society "Best in Show" awards. "I have never been in a business like this where your customers are helpful, where your competitors are helpful. It's not as cutthroat."

Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese

If you’d like to read the Wall Street Journal article cited above go to: From Corporate to Camembert: Cheesemaking Lures Newcomers

To purchase Mike Gingrich’s Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese go to: Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese

To view a selection of artisanal American cheeses go to: Artisanal & Crafted Cheeses