Sara Griesbach. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
TOWN OF LINCOLN, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – Wisconsin’s cheese-making industry has gained a new “master” from Wood County.
Sara Griesbach, who works with Nasonville Dairy, recently earned the distinction of Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker, and is only the third woman to hold the title.
She earned two medals for the honor, one for each cheese she decided to master in: cheddar and Monterey Jack.
According to the Center for Dairy Research, in order to become a master cheesemaker, it requires ten years of having a cheesemaker license and currently be making cheese at a Wisconsin plant. “They need to know that you know the business, that’s for sure,” Griesbach said.
Once the application process is done, you’re then put through multiple years of tests and judging.
“You’ll do three rounds of grading your cheese, which, that’s what takes three years…and then it goes up to a board, and then the board actually sees if you are accepted in,” Griesbach said. She chose cheddar and Monterey Jack to master in because of her extensive experience making it with Nasonville and other companies she’s worked for.
When she’s not at the plant, she comes home to a dairy farm with a family that she says is proud of her. “My kids are proud, that’s for sure…They know what Dad does every day because we live on the farm, but it is really cool that they’re starting to understand what we do, what both of us do,” she said.
According to the Center for Dairy Research, four other Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers represent Nasonville Dairy. There is at least one Master Cheesemaker in Clark, Marathon, Wood, and Waupaca Counties.
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