Specialty Cheese at the Commissary

Genuine Wisconsin Cheese.   There are some great cheeses from Wisconsin at the commissary. They're located just to the left of the deli in the refrigerator section.  I was alerted to these cheeses by a U.S. Embassy worker from Tokyo, who makes a special visit to our commissary whenever she comes down for business here. While not claiming any experience in cheese judging capability, I did grow up in Wisconsin and was privy to some pretty good choices growing up. After tasting a few of these I do highly recommend you try them as well.

Sartori Cheese is the maker and they have won many U.S. and World Cheese awards. No red carpets, no cameras, but up against some really tough competition from around the world, they've managed some Gold medals. Sartori Cheese is a family owned and operated business. Sartori is located in Plymouth Wisconsin, which is about 60 miles south of Green Bay. Incidentally, Sartori Cheese was the first U.S. exporter of cheese to Italy and Japan (1970).

This claim seemed a little hard to believe. Surely the Japanese had to be enjoying some great Italian or French cheeses prior to the 70s?  A bit of research revealed that many Japanese did not start eating natural cheese until the 60s. Prior to this it was all processed cheese. Partly because they had a strong aversion to the funky smell of natural cheeses, and partly because many Japanese did not have refrigerators to store the cheese. This changed in the 70s when refrigerators became more common, and maybe then the cheese stopped smelling so funky too. Some additional Japan cheese history and market reading here.  Verifying the "first export" claim was too big a challenge for Google, so I'll just accept it, and I'm happy they continue to export to Japan through the commissary.

My personal favorite is the Balsamic Bellavitano. All are made with certified hormone free milk and all are gluten free with the exception of the Raspberry Bellavitano which is "marinated" in a Raspberry Tart Ale.

On a final note, you can see a label for Mascarpone cheese near the top of the picture above. About two months ago I was struggling with a dessert menu item (at Tori Gin restaurant) in katakana writing - マスカポーネアイス which translates to Mascarpone Ice (cream) - and then had to look that one up to see what Mascarpone was. Subsequently I've heard Mascarpone a few dozen times on the food network, seen it at the commissary and can't seem to get away from it now. So that tells you what I know about specialty cheeses - not even knowing what Mascarpone Cheese is.  For those that may not know, Mascarpone is a specialty Italian cheese made from cream coagulated with citric acid, and is the main ingredient in Tiramisu.