Calling all cheese lovers: University of Wisconsin - River Falls now offers a cheesemaking course
From cheddar to swiss, Wisconsin is known for the craft of queso.
Now, University of Wisconsin-River Falls runs a cheesemaking course at its on-campus dairy plant.
"In Wisconsin, the cheese industry, the dairy industry is an over $50 billion industry," said Michael Orth, dean of the university's College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.
The "gouda" thing is University of Wisconsin-River Falls is developing those already in or who want to work in that industry with their Cheesemaker's Short-Course.
"They're seeing samples of the cheese, they can see it, taste it, smell it," said Rueben Nilsson, UWRF's dairy pilot plant manager.
They learn the process, work the equipment, discuss the science and technical aspects of making cheese in a five day course.
The plant is made possible by names like Culver's, Land O' Lakes and more that students can actually get that hands-on experiential experience.
"I'm a parm girl, I love parm through and through," said senior Makenzie Skibbie.
Skibbie has family is in the business and took the course to follow in her mother's footsteps.
"Wisconsin's the only one that requires you to have a license to make cheese. So for me, going into these classes, it gives me a head step going into the industry," Skibbie said.
"We're passing on knowledge and raising the bar for the quality of cheese," Nilsson said.
If you want to try out these cheese that's produced by students, it's all available at the on-campus Freddy's Dairy Bar.
To learn more about the course, visit the university's website.
