Cheesemaker Pam Hodgson receives an interview with Xinhua in Wisconsin, the United States, on Oct. 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)
by Xu Jing, Xia Lin, Miao Zhuang
CHICAGO, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Pam Hodgson grew up on her family's dairy farm in Darien in the U.S. Midwest state of Wisconsin. She has engaged in cheesemaking for over two decades, and was the only two females among the 58 certified master cheesemakers in the state known as "America's Diaryland."
"My maternal grandfather was a world cheesemaker and our daughter is a cheesemaker as well right now in Wisconsin," the 56-year-old master cheesemaker told Xinhua recently.
"My career goal when I was a child was to be a dairy farmer, like my parents, and that took me to the University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison," she said.
After finishing college, Hodgson worked on the farm side of the dairy industry and eventually moved to the manufacturing. She started her cheesemaking career at a cheese plant in 1991.
"It was a very good fit for me to become a master cheesemaker," she said.
In Hodgson's eyes, to be a certified master cheesemaker reflects a long-term commitment to making cheese.
One needs to become a licensed cheesemaker first, which takes two years; then keep making cheese for at least 10 years before they can apply to the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker program, she said, adding after that, there is a three-year apprenticeship and an extensive exam.
Wisconsin is the only U.S. state that requires its cheesemakers to be licensed to craft cheese for retail consumption. Currently, there are about 1,200 licensed cheesemakers making over 600 varieties and styles of cheese in the state.
As a master cheesemaker, Hodgson especially highlighted the quality of milk.
"All of our milk is locally sourced within 75 miles (120 km) of our dairy plant. That's very important," said Hodgson, who is also one of the several certified master cheesemakers working for renowned Sartori Company which is located in Plymouth, Wisconsin, and produces branded Sartori Cheese.
Craft is another thing Hodgson stressed. "At Sartori, our cheeses are handcrafted and also hand finished," she said.
Hodgson admitted that cheese making has changed a lot in 80 years, and people are interested in experiencing more flavors and different varieties of cheese.
Hodgson and her company are cooperating with the Center for Dairy Research in University of Wisconsin in Madison to test experimental cheeses in small batches in the latter's pilot lab.
"We want to try out on a small scale before bringing them back into our plant and making bigger batches," she said.
"I just want to keep creating new types of cheese," Hodgson added. "I believe through innovation we have new flavors and styles of cheese yet to be discovered."
"The thing with cheese making is it's a life's work, there are always challenges, there's always something new to experiment with and try to make better. It's a holistic, challenging career. It's really a calling," she added.
Learning that Sartori Cheese has appeared in the Chinese market, Hodgson was very excited.
"I sincerely hope that the Chinese consumers try our cheeses and I hope they find them delightful. We have a variety of cases for them to explore," she said.
