The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® Program was established as an advanced education program for experienced cheesemakers through joint sponsorship with the Center for Dairy Research, UW-Extension, and the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. In order to be accepted into the program, you must currently be making cheese in a Wisconsin plant and hold a Wisconsin cheesemaker’s license for a minimum of 10 years. Each Master candidate must participate in the program’s quality assurance component of plant and product inspection. This program, the only one in the U.S., enhances the quality image of what is already the nation’s premier cheesemaking state and the unparalleled standards of Wisconsin cheesemaking.
The purpose of the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® Program is three-fold:
1. Provide a formal sequence of courses that leads to the title of Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker.
2. Add value to cheese because it was made by a "Master Cheesemaker," like those of European tradition.
3. Equip Wisconsin cheesemakers with the knowledge and skills to be competitive in the marketplace both nationally and internationally.
Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers
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Before applying to the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Program, Master applicants must be making cheese in a Wisconsin cheese plant, shall have had their Wisconsin cheesemakers license for a minimum of 10 years, shall have been producing the cheese they want to get certified in for at least 5 years and have taken an advanced cheesemaking and one elective short course specified by the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Board. Applicants also must have day to day involvement in the cheesemaking process and a fundamental knowledge of the entire cheesemaking production process.
Applicants must have a fundamental knowledge of the entire cheesemaking production process detailed below. The involvement and knowledge requirements of each applicant will be assessed during the interview process.
Involvement
Applicants shall have a working knowledge of the entire cheesemaking process (including milk receiving and processing) but must be involved in the day to day cheesemaking activities below.
- Vat operations
- Curd handling- salting, pressing, forming etc.
- Product aging/ripening
- Product quality management/troubleshooting
- Finished product evaluation and grading
Knowledge
Applicants shall have an elevated working knowledge of the following areas of dairy and cheese manufacturing for the cheese they are seeking certification in.
Food Safety
~ Fundamental understanding of your Food Safety Plan and Programs
Regulatory
~ Understanding of Wisconsin and Federal regulations surrounding milk, cheese production and cheese Standards of Identity
Milk Quality
~ Milk composition and microbiology
~ Raw milk quality tests and factors that effect raw milk quality
~ General understanding of indicators of poor-quality milk and its effects on cheese
Milk Processing
~ Pasteurization
~ Standardization
Cheesemaking Ingredients
~ Starter Cultures
~ Coagulants
~ Factors effecting starter and coagulant performance
Cheese Manufacturing
~ Cheesemaking procedures and processes
~ Cheesemaking parameters and effects on cheese composition
Cleaning and Sanitation
~ General knowledge of procedures and chemical use
~ Common cleaning issues in dairy plants
Cheese Evaluation, Grading and Defects
~ General organoleptic attributes
~ Typical defects and related causes
It takes 2 years and 8 months from the time cheesemakers are accepted into the Program until they graduate.
Applications are due to CDR (email application to communications@cdr.wisc.edu) by May 15th.
After being accepted into the Program each cheesemaker will receive regular updates on course work completed and any additional course work needed to finish the Program.
The Master’s Mark is an exclusive benefit for Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers. The Master’s Mark® may be used for marketing and promotional purposes through a licensing agreement with the DFW. To use the mark, the certified Master Cheesemaker must supervise cheesemaking in a Wisconsin plant that continues to participate in the quality assurance program.
This mark may only be used in conjunction with products for which the Master Cheesemaker is certified. A designated committee will evaluate these products on an annual basis.
The Master’s Mark® is a trademark of the DFW and may be used in connection with registered brands owned by the applicant. Other uses will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by DFW.
Master Cheesemaker 25th Anniversary
Become a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker
Each year cheesemakers must apply to the program by May 15th. Before applying for the program cheesemakers must take the Advanced Cheese Technology short course and another course required to complete the program.