Redhead Creamery’s Lucky Linda cheddar is fashioned in the traditional English style. The cheese is clothbound for aging, which Alise Sjostrom, owner and master cheesemaker at the creamery, said adds flavor and makes the cheese more easily maintained while it ages. PHOTO SUBMITTED
Redhead Creamery’s Lucky Linda cheddar is fashioned in the traditional English style. The cheese is clothbound for aging, which Alise Sjostrom, owner and master cheesemaker at the creamery, said adds flavor and makes the cheese more easily maintained while it ages. PHOTO SUBMITTED
BROOTEN, Minn. – Alise Sjostrom was expecting the results of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest to be announced Feb. 23. Her anticipation was growing the day before, wondering if either of the two cheeses she had entered in the category of natural rind cheddar would fare well.
“I was purposely trying to forget about it,” Sjostrom said.
Then, her mom told her somebody had posted online that Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese had won first place in a different category.
“I thought, ‘Wait a minute. How do you know that?’” Sjostrom said.
She decided right then to peek at the contest’s website.
Sjostrom is master cheesemaker for Redhead Creamery in Brooten, a business she owns with her husband, Lucas Sjostrom, and her parents, Jerry and Linda Jennissen. The creamery is located on the Jennissen farm where Sjostrom grew up. It produces 60,000 pounds of cheese every year.
When Sjostrom looked at the contest website, she said she could not contain her excitement.
“I gasped and started jumping up and down,” Sjostrom said.
Redhead Creamery’s Lucky Linda clothbound cheddar had taken first place in its class. And, that was not all. Out of 2,249 entries of cheese in all categories, Lucky Linda was picked as one of the top 20. The judges had scored it 98.6 out of 100.
The U.S. Championship Cheese Contest is held every other year, and Sjostrom entered cheese before. She said the contest organizers have a lot of cheese to sort and organize for the judges to taste because each entry must use a numbering system that removes all the branding from the product so the judging remains unbiased.
Lucky Linda cheddar had been through the process several times.
“I’ve sent the Lucky Linda to this competition every year (since first making it),” Sjostrom said. “These contests have a technical aspect and an aesthetic aspect. On the technical side, I haven’t always done as well, but with the Lucky Linda, I always do well. So, I always send that cheese, and it has continued to improve every year in the competition.”
The cheese has earned as high as fourth place in previous contests.
“The particular batch this year was about 8 months old; we always want something that’s a little more aged because they tend to taste better,” Sjostrom said. “We just always send it and cross our fingers. I didn’t think this year was better than any other year necessarily, but the judges did.”
Besides entering Lucky Linda again, this was the first year Sjostrom entered Redhead Creamery’s Margie clothbound cheddar. It took fifth place for its maiden entry.
“We just started doing Margie as a clothbound cheddar,” Sjostrom said. “We have been finding through the process of making our cheddars that we like how they taste when they are clothed, and they are a little bit more easily maintained when they are aging.”
Although both Lucky Linda and Margie are clothbound cheddars, they are styled differently.
“Margie is a little sweeter, sharper cheddar than the Lucky Linda and more tailored to the American palate,” Sjostrom said. “Lucky Linda is based off of the more traditional English style.”
The win means a lot for the creamery, Sjostrom said.
“Some people know who we are, but in my mind, this makes us look a lot more legit, that we are making something good,” Sjostrom said. “It’s really exciting and shows that we are able to make good, quality cheeses in the middle of nowhere in Minnesota.”
Sjostrom’s staff is excited too.
“It’s been a unique year for us in that I’ve had a few health issues in the last year and some of our staff have had some family things that have gone on,” Sjostrom said. “We’re a very close group, and this year has been very hard, so this win is really exciting and fun for us to motivate us and get us going again.”
The excitement and motivation will benefit the many new plans on the horizon at Redhead Creamery.
“We’re working on our whey spirits project and planning to break ground this spring and get that rolling,” Sjostrom said.
The building of the distillery on-site will also involve expansions of the existing tasting room and cheese-aging space.
“(The distillery) will provide an additional opportunity for people to taste spirits that are made out of milk and whey,” Sjostrom said. “We’re excited for that.”
With all the facility changes, Redhead Creamery will still hold its annual Curd Fest June 17 at the creamery. The event includes live music, food trucks, other food makers and vendors, all for what Sjostrom said is a celebration of agriculture and cheese curds.
For Sjostrom herself, the announcement of Lucky Linda’s win was followed by something even greater.
“I always look up to other cheese companies and other cheese makers,” Sjostrom said. “Getting all of the text messages and social media messages from fellow cheesemakers was actually more rewarding to me because they have all been helping me so much in the last 10 to 12 years.”