We have teamed up with Wisconsin Cheese for an interview mini-series referred to as Meet the Cheesemakers, that includes a sampling of the state’s best makers and their award-winning creations.
I’ve been surrounded by girls with a knack for cooking for so long as I can keep in mind. My mother is a chef and caterer, and whereas her mom wasn’t precisely a gourmand (she cherished a canned vegetable second), Granbobbie made some actually superb dishes in her time, together with her well-known potato salad. On my dad’s aspect, I’ve an aunt who’s been chargeable for the Thanksgiving candy potatoes since earlier than I used to be born—to be clear, they’re about 50 % candy potato, and the remainder of the recipe is basically butter and sugar. I’m instructed my dad’s mother, my Bestemama, may make a imply batch of lefse that she served with butter and jam. These girls formed me and my sister, and right now we supply on their love for cooking in our personal houses.
Cheesemaker Pam Hodgson of Sartori Cheese additionally grew up surrounded by girls with a ardour for meals. As a third-generation cheesemaker, her dad and mom and grandparents influenced the best way she thought of dairy from an early age. Many of the produce the household ate was grown by her mother, in two massive gardens on their farm. With out the matriarchs in her household, it’s doable that this Grasp Cheesemaker may’ve ended up in one other line of labor completely—and the identical could possibly be mentioned for me. I sat down with Pam to speak about Wisconsin’s cheesemaking group, Sartori’s unbelievable lineup of cheeses, and the significance of mentorship within the dairy trade.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability.
MADISON TRAPKIN: Are you able to inform me who you might be, what you do, and the place you’re employed?
PAM HODGSON: I’m Pam Hodgson, and I am a Grasp Cheesemaker at Sartori Cheese in Plymouth, Wisconsin.
MT: What does it imply to be a Wisconsin Cheesemaker?
PH: Right here in Wisconsin, we take dairy very severely—our license plates learn “America’s Dairyland.” As a Wisconsin cheesemaker, I’m each the beneficiary and the provider of that custom, and I attempt to all the time convey out the Wisconsin goodness in each pound of cheese that we make. [Dairy is] our largest agricultural pursuit, and we now have nice trade assist. Our farms have the most effective massive animal veterinarians. They’ve soil scientists, they’ve nutritionists. The Middle for Dairy Analysis in Madison, Wisc. has nice assist to assist [the farmers] produce the best high quality milk, and we now have nice assist with a view to make the best high quality cheese. For me, as a cheesemaker, I really feel extremely lucky. Once I go to conferences like [the American Cheese Society conference] I get to speak with plenty of actually gifted cheesemakers, however none of them have the assist that we now have right here in Wisconsin.
MT: Did you all the time know that cheese can be your path?
PH: I actually didn’t plan on turning into a cheesemaker, however I really feel very lucky that this path discovered me. Once I was rising up, my first profession objective was to be a dairy farmer like my dad and mom. Years later, when my husband and I had been newbie farmers and wanted a bit of extra earnings to gas the dream, there was a gap at a neighborhood cheese plant. I utilized for a top quality assurance place as a result of it was good, sincere work. On paper, I may not have been essentially the most certified candidate, however I used to be supplied the job as a result of I believed that the plant supervisor noticed one thing in me. I believe he was proper as a result of as soon as I received into the plant and received working there, I simply thrived. I cherished the method. I cherished the individuals. I cherished how there was all the time one thing occurring that might problem me both bodily or intellectually. Cheesemaking actually engages your entire self as a result of, as cheesemakers, we let the milk and the cheese inform us when it is time to go to the subsequent step. It’s a neat course of, and I fell in love with it.
MT: There are solely two feminine Grasp Cheesemakers on the earth and also you’re certainly one of them—what’s that like?
PH: Once I began within the dairy trade in 1991, it was very male dominated. I truly interviewed [for my cheese plant job] whereas I used to be pregnant with our first youngster. My mother was actually supportive, and I could not have accomplished it within the early days with out her. I’d have issues within the plant the place I wanted to remain, and I’d name her and ask her if she may choose up the youngsters, and she or he did. There have been occasions after I wanted to work at night time as a result of I knew one thing wasn’t proper [with the cheese], so the youngsters slept over at Grandma’s. I actually couldn’t have accomplished it with out her.
I’m optimistic that the quantity [of female Master Cheesemakers] will quickly develop. I’m basing that on [the fact that] proper now in Wisconsin, there are numerous girls who’re making excellent cheeses, together with Erin Radtke right here at Sartori. She’ll be eligible to use beginning January 1. She’s an excellent cheesemaker, and I’m excited and searching ahead to the day the place she turns into a licensed grasp.
MT: I’ve heard that mentorship is an enormous a part of the Grasp Cheesemaker program, and it looks like it’s necessary to Sartori as nicely. Who’ve your mentors been within the dairy trade?
PH: Yeah. When an individual turns into licensed, they’ve a chance to call their mentors. In 2013, when that chance got here up for me, I actually struggled as a result of arising within the cheese trade, I discovered from [a lot of] actually nice individuals, names that everyone within the trade is aware of. However I additionally discovered simply as a lot—or extra—from women and men who quietly did their job to the most effective of their means. On the finish of the day, I selected my dad and mom, Henry and the late Marilyn Umstead, as my mentors as a result of they taught me to all the time continue learning and to all the time respect everybody, particularly those that society would possibly look previous.
When it comes to mentoring [at Sartori], I believe it’s necessary to keep in mind that it’s a two-way [street]. I do know I be taught a complete lot [from the people I mentor], and I hope they be taught one thing, too. I’ve labored very, very exhausting within the final 30 years to essentially construct my data base, and to do [mentorship] proper, I must cross on that data as a result of that’s a part of the Wisconsin cheesemaker custom. If I do that proper by educating individuals what I do know, then [eventually] they’re going to know greater than I do as a result of they’re going to have their experiences and what they’ve discovered on their very own, too. So it’s very humbling, however it’s the way it must be accomplished.
MT: What makes Sartori cheeses so uniquely Wisconsin?
PH: My hope is that when somebody tries a Sartori cheese, they’ll style Wisconsin and the care that our household farms have put [into it]—not solely by taking good care of their animals, but additionally by taking good care of the land that grew the crops that fed the animals that they milked. We’re very dedicated to creating Wisconsin Originals [here]. Cheesemaking is historical, [going] again 1000’s and 1000’s of years. At Sartori, we’re cheesemakers first. We need to create new originals that may wow and delight our patrons, [like] our Merlot BellaVitano. We soak that in vats of Merlot wine, then when the cheeses have been in there lengthy sufficient, we pull the wheel out, let it dry in a rack, and when it’s prepared, we bundle it. That cheese has fruity Merlot notes that complement the BellaVitano cheese itself, which is savory with a lot of cooked dairy notes. It’s actually an exquisite cheese.
Once I began within the Wisconsin dairy trade within the ‘90s, it appeared so huge, like [there were] all these individuals, and I didn’t know anyone. However then as I received moving into it, I [realized] that it truly is an in depth group. We work exhausting, however we play tougher. It’s a neat tradition.
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Our buddies at Wisconsin Cheese are dedicated to showcasing all of the superb cheeses the state has to supply—and there is plenty of them. Wisconsin has extra flavors, varieties, and kinds of cheese than wherever else on the earth. From Italian classics like Parmesan and ricotta to Wisconsin Originals like colby and muenster, this cheese-obsessed state has a bit of one thing for everybody. Discover out extra about Wisconsin Cheese by visiting their website.