Did you ever want to do anything other than make cheese?įor me, I think a big part of it is just to continue the tradition. LaGrander was already a Master Cheesemaker in Colby, Cheddar and Monterey Jack, and this year he added cheese curds. Ryan LaGrander at work at LaGrander’s Hillside Dairy in Stanley. Being unique to the United States and only in Wisconsin, why not get to the highest level of cheesemaking that you can? We put the time and effort into this to be the best at what we do. When the program started (in 1994) my dad, Randy, decided this would be a good thing to get into. They didn't have the master cheesemaker program when he was making cheese. My grandpa was a cheesemaker most of his life. Why was it important to you to earn the master cheesemaker designation for curds now? You’ve been making cheese curds since the beginning. Your family’s roots in cheesemaking reach three generations, from your grandparents to your father and your brother. They're getting to be fewer and farther between. We love being cheesemakers, part of that group supporting the local dairy farms that are still around. We want to continue the tradition my grandpa started, that's a big part of what keeps us going every day. My grandparents actually bought the plant where we are now in 1960, so we’ve been at this for 63 years. What do you want people to know about your family’s business? The farm store is being expanded and shifted to a new space this summer. LaGrander's Hillside Dairy is six miles south of Highway 29 in the town of Stanley. They sell the white and yellow cheddar curds plus other cheeses Monday through Saturday at their retail store on site. The dairy's curds have plenty of fans across the country as well, becoming their biggest seller as deep-fried cheese curd appetizers at Culver’s and other restaurants.įans of fresh curds don’t fret, they’re still making plenty of those. Spicy varieties like mango habanero and scorpion pepper have become customer favorites. Today LaGrander’s Hillside Dairy crafts more than 50 varieties of specialty cheese, including Colby, Cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack.
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