Switzerland & Midwest connections: Cheese Heads
Welcome to the newly created History Blog featuring the connections between Switzerland and the Midwest. I am Joerg Oberschmied, Deputy Consul General in Chicago. My interest in history started at an early age and continues to this day. The views expressed are solely mine and I hope you enjoy these journeys through time.
Already the old Romans enjoyed their «Caseus Helveticus», the cheese from the Swiss Alps. In the middle ages, in addition to its role as the Swiss staple food, it also served as a common means of payment. It was customary to pay artisans and day laborers, even the parish priest “in cheese and money”. This trade soon necessitated the cheese monger as a link between the alpine dairyman and the buyer since he possessed storage space, capital, sales expertise and the customer network. As late as the 18th century, the cheese monger brought goods like coffee and tobacco into alpine farmhouses in exchange for cheese wheels.
Due to economic hardships in the 19th century, many young Swiss farmers had to emigrate and came to the new world. With them, skilled workers such as cheese makers came along and brought their craft to America. Switzerland opened a Consulate in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1842 (later moved to Kentucky) and in 1845 immigrants from the canton Glarus founded a new settlement in Green County aptly named New Glarus. The founding of nearby Monroe followed in 1847. Before the late 1860s, the main product of Wisconsin was wheat and while the Swiss immigrants prospered for a number of years by raising wheat crops, the poor soil conditions forced them to pursue dairy production. As a result, they were instrumental in laying the foundation of Wisconsin becoming America’s dairy land.
Swiss immigrant Rudolph Benkert began making Limburger near Monroe in 1867. This semi-soft cheese, originally from Belgium and brought over by German immigrants, was an inexpensive cheese made in winter whose aroma Mark Twain described as “most evil”. When the strong aroma overcame a mail carrier in Iowa, the local postmaster proceeded to ban all shipments of the cheese. However, Limburger was abundant and became the workingman’s cheese. In 1868, Swiss cheesemaker Nicklaus Gerber started the very first cheese factory in Green County and in 1877 fellow Swiss immigrant John Jossi began making brick cheese, a new and original process which he shared with others. By 1910, there were over 200 known cheese factories making Green County the number one cheese-producing county in Wisconsin. Today, Wisconsin has 1200 licensed cheesemakers and is the largest cheese producer in the United States, producing a quarter of the American annual cheese production and 100% of US Limburger production.
Monroe is nicknamed the “Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA” and about a quarter of its inhabitants have roots in Switzerland. The Cheese Festival began in 1914 and the idea was taken from a small Illinois town, which had a “sauerkraut” celebration. Now the Green County Cheese Days take place every two years and attract over 100,000 visitors.
Wisconsin’s capital Madison hosts the biennial World Championship Cheese Contest, which in early 2020 drew representatives from 26 nations to crown the World Champion Cheese. This year, a Gruyère from Switzerland beat 3,667 other entries while second place also went to Switzerland for a Gallus Grand Cru and the Netherlands earned third place with a Gouda.
The term Cheese Head was coined by Illinois sports fans for Green Bay Packers fans and has since been embraced by Wisconsinites who are proud of their cheese heritage. Visit https://nationalhistoriccheesemakingcenter.org for additional information and visit Monroe and New Glarus on a future trip to sample some local cheese in person. Thanks to Esther and Tony Zgraggen for their Fondue recipe. You can also get a prepackaged Fondue and a pot through their online stores www.shopswiss.com, www.alpanddellcheese.com:
Basic Cheese Fondue
1-pound aged Swiss cheese grated
(½ pound Gruyere, ½ pound Emmentaler)
2 cups dry white wine
1–3 Garlic Cloves
3 tablespoon Kirsch
2 teaspoon Cornstarch
Pepper, Nutmeg, Paprika to taste
2 Loaves of French bread cut in cubes
Rub fondue pot with garlic, crush and leave in bottom of pot. Add the wine; cook over medium heat until bubbly. Turn heat to low and gradually stir in cheese. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until cheese is melted. In a cup mix Kirsch and cornstarch. Add to cheese continue to cook for a few minutes until fondue is thick and smooth. Season with pepper, nutmeg, paprika. Do not allow fondue to boil!
En guete! Enjoy!
If you liked this content, make sure to read our latest articles from the History Blog series: Swiss in the Resettling of the Midwest and Meet Me in St. Louis.
