U.S. Specialty Cheese Gallery > Wisconsin
Hook's Cheese Company
|
320 Commerce State Mineral Point, WI 53565 |
| +1 (608) 987 3259 | |
| www.hookscheese.com | |
|
Contact:
Tony Hook |
Contact Hook's Cheese Company Today!
Hook's Cheese Company was formed in 1976 and incorporated in 1982. They make cheese in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, from cow milk produced within 4 miles of their cheese plant. They have been purchasing cow milk from the same small family farms for over 40 years. These farmers provide Hook's with the best quality cow milk to produce some of the best cow milk cheeses in the world.
Hook's Cheese Company produces cheddar cheese from cow milk which is aged for as long as 15 years. Hook's Cheese produces seven different styles of blue veined cheeses. Four of these are cow milk cheeses, one is made with sheep milk, one is made with goat milk, and one is made with mixed milk - sheep, cow, and goat milk. Hook's Cheese produces about 45 varieties of cow milk cheeses, eight varieties of sheep milk cheeses, five varieties of goat milk cheeses, and four mixed-milk cheeses. These mixed-milk cheeses include EWE CALF to be KIDding Blue, Triple Play, Red Errigal, and Triple Play EXTRA INNINGS.
Meet the Cheesemaker
Anthony Hook was raised on a small dairy farm south of Barneveld, Wisconsin. After graduating from Barneveld High School, he started working at the local cheese plant called Barneveld Cheese Company. Tony apprenticed under Bill Ienatsch for two years and received his cheesemaker's license in 1972. Tony and his wife Julie started Hook's Cheese Company in 1976 in rural Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and bought their current cheese plant in the city of Mineral Point in 1987. Tony still makes cheese after 47 years in the business and loves to come up with new varieties of cheeses. His latest inventions are the Triple Play EXTRA INNINGS , which is an aged version of the Triple Play, and Hurdy Gurdy, which is a goat milk alpine-style cheese.
Discover Hook's Specialty Cheeses
1-Year Aged Cheddar
A colored cheddar that has a nice flavor, a little sharper than the medium cheddar. This is what most stores would call a sharp cheddar. Aged for one year, it has a smooth, slightly acidic cheddar flavor. It melts beautifully on sandwiches and burgers and is perfect for macaroni dishes.
|
Shelf Life: 360 days |
Raw Milk Cheese: No | Cut: Vacuum-packed retail; random weight |
- First Place, 10 years in a row at the Iowa County Fair
Colby
Hook's World Champion Colby is a washed curd cheese. This is the traditional way of making Colby and gives the cheese little tiny openings and a sweeter flavor than cheddar. Washing the curd washes the lactose, or milk sugar, off of the curd. In traditional cheddar, the lactose is not washed off, and the starter bacteria that is added feeds on the milk sugars, changing the cheese to give it a more acidic flavor. This does not occur in Hook's traditional Colby, still made the same as it was in 1982 when it won the prestigious overall World Cheese Championship.
|
Shelf Life: 180 days |
Raw Milk Cheese: No | Cut: Vacuum-packed retail; exact weight |
- 2010 - Third, American Cheese Society
-
- 1982 - World Champion, World Cheese Championship
Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue is a blue cheese made from sheep milk instead of cow's milk, just like true Roquefort is made from sheep milk in France. Hook's makes theirs at their plant in Mineral Point from sheep milk produced in southwest Wisconsin, some from Amish farms in the area. The cheese is produced during the time of year when the sheep are out grazing on lush grasses growing on the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin.
|
Shelf Life: 360 days |
Raw Milk Cheese: No | Cut: Vacuum-packed retail; random weight |
- 2017 - Second, American Cheese Society
-
- 2016 - First, American Cheese Society
-
- 2014 - First, American Cheese Society
-
- 2013 - First, U.S. Cheese Championship
-
- 2012 - Second, American Cheese Society
-
- 2011 - First, American Cheese Society
-
- 2011 - First, U.S. Cheese Championship
-
- 2010 - Third, American Cheese Society
-
- 2010 - Third, World Cheese Championship
Pepper Jack
Our Pepper Jack is made with almost all red jalapeño peppers and a few green jalapeño peppers to give the cheese a nice sweet and hot flavor.
|
Shelf Life: 180 days |
Raw Milk Cheese: No | Cut: Vacuum-packed retail; random weight |
- 2016 - Third, American Cheese Society
Triple Play
This unique cheese is made only by Hook's Cheese Company and combines three different milks (cow, sheep, and goat) and three different starter cultures. With a consistency of white cheddar, Triple Play has a mild, creamy flavor with notes of Baby Swiss, Havarti, Gouda, and Cheddar.
|
Shelf Life: 360 days |
Raw Milk Cheese: No | Cut: Vacuum-packed retail; random weight |
- 2015 - Third, American Cheese Society
-
- 2015 - Third, U.S. Cheese Championship