Stevens Point News

Main Menu

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times

logo

Stevens Point News

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times
Commentary
Home›Commentary›Schuh column: Say cheese

Schuh column: Say cheese

By jschooley
September 30, 2019
6666
0
Share:
shuh column image

By Jim Schuh

You may be among the few who enjoy limburger cheese. There apparently aren’t many who do, because in the United States, there’s just one cheese plant that makes it. The Chalet Cheese Cooperative near Monroe is the lone producer.  I wonder if you can smell it when driving past the cheese plant.

Limburger is mild-tasting, but its fragrance often drives people away.

I happen to be among those who like limburger, but we almost never buy any. We’re fearful its smell might “contaminate” the other stuff in our refrigerator. Aficionados say it tastes best on rye bread, perhaps with a slice of onion.

I wonder if U.S. produced limburger might be in jeopardy. That’s because Chalet Cheese is making less of it every year. Production is less than 500,000 pounds.

When looking at cheese production in general, Wisconsin is the nation’s top producer, with 27 percent of all domestic cheese coming out of the state. Maybe to distinguish ourselves from California which produces much more milk than Wisconsin, we need to change our slogan from “America’s Dairyland” to “America’s Cheese Capital.”

Wisconsin’s total cheese production is around 800,000,000 pounds and a quarter of it is in specialty cheeses, like Blue, Feta, Havarti, Hispanic types, specialty Mozzarella, Parmesan wheel, and gouda.  The state has about 130 cheese plants.

We’re fortunate to have two wonderful cheese plants and stores nearby – Dairy State in Rudolph and Mullins in Knowlton. Before we head south for a vacation, we always take cheese orders from our friend and relatives in Alabama and load up on big blocks of mozzarella and smaller chunks of cranberry-infused cheese. That assures a warm welcome when we arrive.

When you visit someone or go to dinner at a friend’s place, you can’t go wrong if you present your hosts with a package of cheese. If you do that, it’s probably wise to avoid limburger and select a nice Havarti instead.

  At our house, when we run out of ideas over what to have for dinner, a good choice is a toasted cheese sandwich. We use cheddar or Havarti inside whole grain bread and prepare the sandwich in a skillet.  The golden-brown nutty flavor of the toast combined with the squishy cheese makes for good eating.

 I don’t know how cheese became mousetrap bait. Perhaps the idea originated in cartoons. But the Victor people who make mousetraps have this to say about cheese and mousetraps: “Forget the old cartoon image of mice eating cheese. The rodents are primarily nut and seed eaters, so the mouse trap bait they are most strongly attracted to is peanut butter or hazelnut spread. Their hunger for calories also entices them to try chocolate.”

As tasty as cheese is, the word has a dark side.  The adjective “cheesy” came into use to mean second-rate, cheap, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, worthless, shoddy, sleazy, ultra-cheap, trashy, and even schlock.

Dictionary.com says “cheesy” may have originated in 1896 as student slang when the word “cheese” meant cheap or inferior, and an ignorant, stupid person. But some have suggested the modern derogatory meaning is an “ironic reversal” of the time when the definition of “cheesy” was fine and showy. We’ll never know for sure. Meanwhile, I’ll ignore all that and keep enjoying my cheese.

 Some people limit their cheese intake, fearing a jump in their cholesterol numbers.  As with anything, moderation is key. For me, cheese is just too good to avoid.

If you want to be a fatalist, you can always make the argument that you’re going to eat as much cheese as you want, because in the end, you’ll die anyway. If you do, you’ll probably die happy!

Previous Article

Supporting Meals on Wheels

Next Article

Mary Cecilia Klismith

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • Commentary

    How much influence do campaign contributions have?

    October 7, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Manliness and manly smells could be pain suppressant

    October 7, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Quiet moments of focus many times are richest and most rewarding

    October 28, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Traveling is good for mind and soul, recommended for all

    October 28, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Eating while traveling isn’t always perfect, but a valuable experience

    November 4, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Don’t be a tough guy, better safe than sorry

    November 4, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS

Leave a reply Cancel reply

High School Sports

Go to High School Sports

Free SP Newsletter

  • Sports

  • Commentary

  • Pacelli softball leans on aggressive offense, a micro perspective

    By Jacob Heid
    March 17, 2023
  • Stevens Point among 2023 U.S. Senior Open qualifying sites

    By Kris Leonhardt
    March 17, 2023
  • Nicolet National Bank Senior Spotlight: Lily Lorbiecki, Rosholt basketball 

    By Jacob Heid
    March 16, 2023
  • Second-half run propels Cardinals to regional title 

    By Jacob Heid
    March 6, 2023
  • Eagles’ Phillips reaches 1,000-point milestone as sophomore

    By Jacob Heid
    March 3, 2023
  • Pat Wood

    From the publisher: Christmas and Hanukkah

    By Kris Leonhardt
    December 24, 2022
  • Ice fishing contest Reels in $1,500 for Portage County Literacy Council

    By Taylor Hale
    March 17, 2022
  • Kemmeter Column: County celebrates year after quarantine

    By Taylor Hale
    July 12, 2021
  • Isherwood Column: Great engineering projects two

    By Taylor Hale
    July 11, 2021
  • Shoes News Graphic

    Show Column: Odd Jobs

    By Taylor Hale
    July 9, 2021

About Us


The Portage County Gazette is published every Friday by Multi Media Channels. It is locally-owned, locally-operated and locally-written. Subscriptions are $64 annually, delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.


To subscribe, go www.shopmmclocal.com/product/portage-county-gazette or call 715-258-4360

  • PO Box 408, Waupaca WI 54981
  • (715) 343-8045
  • News editor: [email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×