Fromagination, Madison WI

Mike & Carol Gingrich
Uplands Cheese
Making only a single cheese -- the much-awarded Pleasant Ridge Reserve -- Uplands Cheese is a Wisconsin farmstead dairy operation using only the freshest milk from its own grazing herd during the Spring, Early Summer and Early Fall months. Uplands dairy cows freely graze on lush pasture grasses, herbs and wildflowers in the rolling hills of Southwest Wisconsin, producing uniquely-flavored pasture-produced milk.

of flavor. Uplands begins producing cheese in late spring when cows are fully adapted to a diet of pasture grasses and stops production in the fall when pastures begin to go dormant. Cheese is made right on the farm starting within minutes after the last cow has been milked. Meticulous attention to production details and use of traditional cultures and enzymes assures that fresh milk will yield a cheese that responds to the affinage process with a deep and complex flavor profile. The final stage of Uplands’ cheesemaking process includes daily washing and turning of each wheel of cheese in a cave environment. After about 4 months in the aging room, Pleasant Ridge Reserve is ready to please discerning palates everywhere. However, the cheese is often allowed to age futher - up to 24 months - changing and developing variations in its flavor. Try it at various stages to find a rare flavor experience at every age. Pleasant Ridge Reserve enjoys a rare honor -- winning Best of Show twice in 2001 and 2005 from the American Cheese Society, and being named the U.S. Champion at the 2003 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. In fact, it is the only cheese ever to win both awards. Pleasant Ridge Reserve has been recognized as one of the top 10 American-made farmstead artisan cheeses by numerous culinary publications. Pleasant Ridge Reserve is usually eaten as a table cheese, excellent as an appetizer or a dessert cheese. It is also an excellent cooking cheese - similar to French Gruyeres, it is superb in soups, fondues, gratins and omelettes. It is a favorite of chefs, restaurants and consumers across the United States.