SUGARCREEK, Ohio — The Ohio Swiss Cheese Association held the Ohio State Fair contest July 11 at Pearl Valley Cheese in Fresno, Ohio.
The Ohio State Fair contest is the second of three contests held during 2017 to determine the grand champion and reserve champion cheesemakers for the year of 2017.
The cheese of the winners for the six classifications will be on display at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus. All the cheese entries were judged Grade A. Winners of the Ohio State Fair contest by classification are as follows.
Rindless Swiss Class: 1. Pearl Valley Cheese Co.; 2. Guggisberg Cheese Co., Millersburg; 3. Broad Run Cheese, Dover.
Other Swiss: 1. Pearl Valley Cheese Co., Lacey Baby Swiss; 2. Bunker Hill Cheese, Millersburg, Gouda; 3. Guggisberg Cheese Co., Baby Swiss.
Mild Cheddar: 1. Pearl Valley Cheese Co.; 2. Middlefield Original Cheese, Middlefield.
Aged Cheddar: 1. Middlefield Original Cheese.
Italian-type Cheese: There were no entries for this classification.
Open: 1. Bunker Hill Cheese, Jersey Fresh; 2. Pearl Valley Cheese, Pepper Jack; 3. Pearl Valley Cheese, Marble.
Soft and Spreadable Class: 1. Bunker Hill Cheese, Caramel Feta Cheese Spread; 2. Blue Jacket Dairy, Bellefontaine, Lemon Jewel Quark; 3. Bunker Hill Cheese, Feta.
Judges were Mike Felton, former cheesemaker, Janice Deuble, cheese quality technician, Mark Coblentz, cheese buyer, Chad Proper, quality control and sales, and Paul Chervenak, cheese buyer.
For the Ohio State Fair, Pearl Valley Cheese Co. received the grand champion rosette for its Swiss cheese and Bunker Hill Cheese received the reserve champion rosette for its Jersey Fresh cheese.
