Abbreviation | ACS |
---|---|
Formation | 1983 |
Founder | Frank V. Kosikowski |
Type | Nonprofit |
04-2900272 | |
Purpose | Cheese education |
Professional title | ACS Certified Cheese Professional®, ACS Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator® |
Headquarters | Englewood, Colorado |
Region served | The Americas |
Field | Cheesemaking |
Membership (2021) | 2,100 |
Website | www |
The American Cheese Society (ACS) is a non-profit trade group for the American cheese industry that was founded in 1983.
ACS promotes American cheeses, [1] provides the industry with educational resources and networking opportunities and encourages high standards of Cheesemaking with safety and sustainability. ACS issues awards for cheeses and cultured dairy products in its annual Judging & Competition. Since 1983, cheesemakers, retailers, distributors, importers/exporters, dairy farmers, academics, enthusiasts, specialty food producers, and others have attended the association's Annual Conference. [2] [3]
ACS was founded by Frank Kosikowski, a professor at Cornell University. Kosikowski authored several books on cheese, including Cheese and Fermented Milk Food. [4] During the 1980s, most of the ACS staff was volunteer. By the 1990s, ACS had grown along with the American cheese industry.
In 2018 ACS had nearly 1,800 members of the association worldwide. [5] Professional membership is those working in the industry, and Associate for non-professionals. [6]
ACS has an alliance nonprofit organization called "the American Cheese Education Foundation (ACEF)". [7] ACEF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
ACS holds an annual conference and competition in the United States.
ACS also developed and administers the ACS Certified Cheese Professional Exam (ACS CCP Exam) [8] and the ACS T.A.S.T.E. Test, which one must pass to receive the ACS Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluator credential. [9] An online directory [10] of individuals with the ACS CCP designation is available for reference by organizations and individuals seeking employees.
ACS organizes the American Cheese Month every October. [11] The month-long event promotes the American cheese industry and increased funding for the American Cheese Education Foundation. American Cheese Month encourages cheesemakers to host special events, such as tours at their farms. People from across the country are encouraged to join by promoting cheese-related events, including gatherings of cheesemakers, retailers, cheesemongers, and chefs.
Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as yogurt, cheese, milk and butter. A facility that produces dairy products is known as a dairy. Dairy products are consumed worldwide to varying degrees. Some people avoid some or all dairy products because of lactose intolerance, veganism, or other health reasons or beliefs.
Rennet is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a lipase.
Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a culture, or any edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then allowing it to coagulate. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins (casein) to tangle into solid masses, or curds. Milk that has been left to sour will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk cheeses are produced this way.
The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) is a farmer-owned dairy cooperative headquartered in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The association manufactures and sells dairy products under the "Tillamook" brand name. Its main facility is the Tillamook Creamery, located two miles north of the city of Tillamook on U.S. Route 101.
Colby is a semihard orange cheese made from cow's milk. It is named after the city of Colby, Wisconsin, USA, where it was first developed in 1885 and quickly became popular.
Cheesemaking is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrated form. Cheesemaking allows the production of the cheese with diverse flavors and consistencies.
Liederkranz is an American re-creation of Limburger cheese, made subtly different by the use of a different bacterial culture for smear-ripening. Liederkranz is a cow's milk cheese, with an edible pale yellow-orange tan crust, and a semisoft, pale interior with a mildly pungent flavor and distinct aroma that could become unpleasantly ammonia-like if aged incorrectly.
Neal's Yard Dairy is a London artisanal cheese retailer, wholesaler and (formerly) cheesemaker in London, which was founded by Nicholas Saunders and Randolph Hodgson in 1979. It has been described as "London's foremost cheese store." As of 2020 the company has three shops and a cheese store in London.
Coulommiers is a soft ripened cheese from Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, France. It is made from cow's milk, and is usually in the shape of a disc with white, bloomy, edible Penicillium candidum rind. When produced as an artisanal or "farmhouse" cheese from unpasteurized milk, it has some reddish blush in parts of the rind. The period of ripening when made of pasteurised whole milk is about four to six weeks. The fat content is 40 per cent.
Joseph Harding was responsible for the introduction of modern cheese making techniques and has been described as the "father of Cheddar cheese". He is credited with having invented the "definite formula" for the production of cheddar cheese.
Cheese is a dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk. During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout.
Wisconsin cheese is cheese made in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin has a long tradition and history of cheese production and it is widely associated in popular culture with cheese and the dairy industry.
Florence Lucy Appleby MBE was an English traditional cheesemaker. She created 'Mrs Appleby's Cheshire' which, by the time of her death, was the last remaining Cheshire cheese to observe the traditions of using unpasteurised milk from the farm herd, being bound in calico cloth and matured on-farm. Appleby co-founded the Specialist Cheesemakers Association to defend the use of unpasteurised milk in cheesemaking.
Beecher's Handmade Cheese is an artisan cheesemaker with retail locations in the greater Seattle area and several airports. The company was founded by Kurt Beecher Dammeier in 2003 and opened in Pike Place Market after Dammeier obtained a difficult to obtain storefront lease in the Market. Because Dammeier had never been a cheesemaker, he sought out the assistance of Brad Sinko, who helped run a family cheese-making business in Oregon. A second location was opened in 2011 Manhattan's Flatiron District; this closed in October, 2022.
Artisanal cheese refers to cheeses produced by hand using the traditional craftsmanship of skilled cheesemakers. As a result, the cheeses are often more complex in taste and variety. Many are aged and ripened to achieve certain aesthetics. This contrasts with the more mild flavors of mass-produced cheeses produced in large-scale operations, often shipped and sold right away.
Beenleigh Blue is a thin-rinded, unpressed soft blue cheese made from pasteurised ewe's milk and vegetarian rennet produced by the Ticklemore Cheese Company in Ashprington, Devon, England. The cheese originated in the 1980s with a limited line by Robin and Sari Congdon, and thereafter became available to consumers throughout the year.
Max McCalman is an American cheese scholar and advocate for artisanal cheese production. He is an author, was the first Maître Fromager in a North American restaurant, spearheaded the creation of the Artisanal Bistro and Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, and is an advocate for raw-milk cheeses.
Dairy is a major industry in the state of Wisconsin. Being known for its dairy production, the state is often called "America's Dairyland." The industry is prominent in official state symbols—being displayed on the state's license plates, state's slogan, and on the state quarter.
Commercial cheesemaking in Wisconsin dates back to the nineteenth century. Early cheesemaking operations began on farmsteads in the Michigan and Wisconsin territories, with large-scale production starting in the mid-1800s. Wisconsin became the largest producer of cheese in the United States in the early 1900s, and in 2019 produced over 3.36 billion pounds of cheese in more than 600 varieties, accounting for 26% of all cheese made in the country that year.