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Consumers want more cheese flavors

A dairy checkoff leader says consumer demand has influenced a shift in cheese manufacturing.

Patrick Geoghegen with Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin says, “Consumers today are really interested in new flavors.”

Geoghegen tells Brownfield those new flavors can come from specialty cheeses, aging cheddar for up to twenty years, and adding new cheeses to traditional favorites.  “Even pizza is becoming more and more of a specialty category where some of the companies are putting in new and different kinds of cheeses in addition to the mozzarella.”  Geoghegen says even blue and Limburger cheese is being added to pizzas.

USDA reports show more specialty and Italian cheeses and less Cheddar cheeses are being produced.

Geoghegen says most Wisconsin cheese leaves the state, and more than half of Wisconsin cheese is used in food service and restaurants.