Macy Knows Cheese!
Macy, Cheese Buyer
“If you find a cheese you love snap a picture of the wrapper. You’ll be glad you did the next time you try to find it in our beautiful, bountiful case of cheese.”
You may know Macy as the bright smile behind the cheese counter at Viroqua Food Co+op. She’s helped countless people find a new cheese or locate their favorite in VFC’s artisan cheese case. Macy's goal is to make the many varieties of cheese approachable and to help people connect to and discover a cheese they love.
What sparked your interest in cheese?
I grew up in a small farming community in Southwest Wisconsin. I appreciate that most of our food comes from hard-working people who dedicate their lives to their craft, animals, and land. When it comes to cheese, it is often all three. This excites me because it’s not only the process of cheesemaking that is important, it is a whole story that begins on the farm.
Explain more about that.
Cheese's main ingredient is milk. Whether it is cow's milk, goat's milk, sheep's milk, or a blend of the three, the flavor and quality of the milk starts with the land the animals are grazed on – what they eat. Two kinds of cheese made with the same process but from two different regions may have remarkably different flavor profiles. And that is just the beginning of the story. Where cheese makers passion and craft really come together is in the cheese. Whether soft or hard, sharp or sweet, smokey or floral, fresh or aged, every cheese unique product that is shared with the world.
Cheese Madness at VFC!
March brings Cheese Madness! Where shoppers can fill out a cheese bracket (see pg. 4-5), taste and vote for their favorite artisan cheese.
How did you pick the cheese that you did for the challenge?
I love this challenge, it’s a fun way for people to try a bunch of different cheeses! I went for a diverse mix of Wisconsin favorites. I chose varieties that taste well on their own and that would be fun to compare to each other. In the first bracket, I paired two of the same variety where there is a clear difference between the flavor of the two kinds of cheese. I thought it would be interesting for people to see how different one smoked gouda, for example, might taste from another. I’m excited to see which cheese is chosen as the Cheese Champ!
Say cheese!
Macy’s best advice: If you find a cheese you love snap a picture of the wrapper. You’ll be glad you did the next time you try to find it in our beautiful, bountiful case of cheese.