FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: April 19, 2005
Contact: Linda Funk
1-866-430-2590 ext 241.
Photos available upon request
Roth Käse’s Aged Homestead Defines Traditional
American Artisanal Cheesemaking
MONROE, Wisconsin—Its name implies a simple, farmstead-style cheese. Indeed, its roots run direct and deep to the Homesteaders struggling establish farms in the Midwest back in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. Back then, cheesemaking was necessity, not art form: It was a way of preserving the abundant milk from the region’s thriving dairy cows over long periods of time without the benefit of refrigeration. Nourishing, necessary and in no way over-intellectualized.
While Roth Käse’s cheesemakers have taken their inspiration from these simple cheeses, the cheeses they craft today (and call Homestead in honor of this heritage) are anything but simple.
Rather, Roth Käse’s Homestead is hand-crafted in small batches from fresh Wisconsin milk, then shelf-cured for 12 to 18 months—sometimes even longer! The result is an artisinal cheese in every sense: Firm-bodied, with a straw-yellow interior, Homestead delights with fine crystals that melt away deliciously into a creamy clean richness reminiscent of well-aged Parmesan. Lest it be confused with such a cheese, the natural basket-weave rind signals Homestead’s beginnings with the pioneering Homesteaders who used baskets as their original cheesmaking forms.
Scarce for the past few years, Roth Käse has brought back this limited quantity Grana-type cheese to the delight of cheese-lovers and discerning chefs across the country—it ribboned at the 2005 Wisconsin State Fair, its first competition since 2002.
Homestead finds welcome at any table where simply prepared, full-flavored food—like any of these suggestions below—is set:
- Thinly shaved on Caesar salad, or grated into Caesar dressing
- Simply chipped into natural-shaped chunks for nibbling with red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or Valpolicella
- Dipped into a well-aged balsamic vinegar and serve aside carpaccio
- Grated, shaved or chipped to savor with plums, grapes or pears, perhaps with Port for a refined yet simple dessert
- Grated into pastry crust for apple or pear pies, or shaved into a thick curl for garnish atop each slice
Homestead is just one of Roth Käse’s range of superb cheeses, each hand-crafted by master cheesemakers according to traditional techniques. With roots in Switzerland, Roth Käse is now a leading manufacturer and marketer of handcrafted, award-winning specialty cheeses in Monroe, WI, making only the highest quality, best tasting cheeses.
For more information on Roth Käse, contact: Kirsten Jaeckle, Director of Marketing 608.328.2122 ext. 8, or visit the website at: www.rothkase.com.
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