Cheesin' it Up in Madison and Milking Wisconsin for Everything It's Worth

A group of Wisconsin dairy cows say, "cheese" for the Rocky Road Trip crew.

Fortunately, since the Rocky Road Trip crew woke up rather early on the morning we traveled to Wisconsin, our first stop in Madison—City of Four Lakes—was at Just Coffee, the city’s first and only 100% fair trade coffee roaster. There, we picked up John Peck from Family Farm Defenders and moved along to Madison Sourdough where Just Coffee’s perfectly roasted fair trade beans were ground and brewed to make an iced red eye that jump-started one of the most exciting days of our trip so far. (Fun fact: The University of Wisconsin Badgers get their name from the lead workers who dug shelters into their mine shafts for sleeping and to protect themselves from the elements.)

John was taking us on a farm tour and our first stop was Cedar Grove Cheese in Plain, Wisconsin. Cedar grove is a family owned cheese factory that has been around for 125 years. They preserve the old world Wisconsin tradition and standards of cheese making while using organic, grass-based milk from local farmers. They also have their own “Living Machine,” which is a green house with ten 2,600-gallon tanks in it. Each tank is a separate step in a natural water filtration system. The water that Cedar Grove uses every day goes through this ecosystem and returns to the environment cleaner than when it arrived.

Next we went to John Kinsman’s dairy farm. (John Kinsman and John Peck are partners in Family Farm Defenders.) We walked through the lush knee-high pastures, marveled at the variety of grasses that the cows feed on every day and visited with the herd. Upon my return to the milking barn I tasted something I have never tried before: grass-fed, unpasteurized, non-homogenized organic milk. It came from cows only hours before I tasted it. If I had the choice, I would never drink anything but that milk for the rest of my life. It had a richness, complexity and vibrancy that I had not experienced in a glass of milk before. John then took us on a tour of his garden and orchard where I stuffed myself with warm, crimson raspberries, grapes, plums and pears.

John then took us down to his Amish neighbor’s farm. Anyone who thinks they work hard in life could spend a couple of hours with an Amish family and get some perspective on what work really is. I found the family’s way of life to be so peaceful and humbly satisfying. I was introduced to all the livestock and one of the young sons made sure to tell me the name of each animal. I also went for a ride around the farm in a horse-drawn carriage. My favorite part of the farm was going in to the house and sitting at the big kitchen table to socialize. The spread laid out before us included sliced ripe peaches, fresh baked biscuits, elderberry jam and milk, cream and butter courtesy of Petunia, the family cow.

Cheese is never out of style in Wisconsin, especially at Cedar Grove Cheese Co.

Our day of eating continued at the Deli Bean in Reedsburg, where we had the most wonderful selection of sandwiches with fresh gazpacho and lemonade. We traveled back to Madison to the Eastside Farmer’s Market. Every farmer’s market I have visited has been a unique expression of their individual communities and the wonderful people that live there. It’s truly inspirational to observe the commitment, cooperation and the personality that each evokes. The highlights of Eastside, for me: more iced coffee from Just Coffee, root beer kombucha and organic kimchi. Check out our photos!

-Chef Rocky Barnette