Cheddar and Smoky Cheddar are in the 3-4 percent range. WSU cheeses regularly fare well in U.S. cheese competitions sponsored by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers and the American Cheese Society. We've placed in both competitions, first or second, at one time or another. Cracked Pepper and Chive earned second place in the 1997 American Cheese Society competition, and Cougar Gold won a second in the U.S. Cheese Championship last year. The ACS competition attracted more than 400 entries.
Cheese production is pretty uniform throughout the year.
Our inventory has to be the shock absorber between production and sales. Most of the marketing is done in October, November and December. The run on cheese starts in August, when school begins, and increases just before Thanksgiving and through mid-December. In addition to cheese, the creamery usually has up to 14 varieties of ice cream available at any one time. Cookie Dough is the most popular flavor.