Jane Burns
Jane Burns
Sense of place
Bananas and peppercorns might not seem an obvious choice for food that celebrates Wisconsin, but a new line of chocolate bars makes that case quite well. Read more
Jane Burns
Cheese Days
Guggisberg Cheese of Ohio took top cheese honors at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay Bay, but Wisconsin dominated overall. Two of Marieke Penterman’s aged goudas won runner-up and second runner-up. Read more
Orchard-specific
Brix Cider in Mount Horeb experiments with ciders like a modern craft brewery. Its specialty is single-origin ciders. Read more
Nathan Gibson
Yodeling fame
UW-Madison professor emeritus Jim Leary will be at the Grammys this year, hoping for a liner notes award. This nomination, his second, is for an archival collection of songs by Swiss and Austrian immigrants, “Alpine Dreaming.” Read more
BFFs
Favorite beer and cheese combos from those in the know. Even assertive brews like IPAs can work well. Read more
Carolyn Fath
Partners in pigs
Uplands Cheese, Seven Seeds Farm and Underground Meats are in a sustainable partnership. The result? Fennel-inflected sausage made from a sweeter pork. Read more
Carolyn Fath
The whole hog
Once a month for three hours, six students who pay $169 get hands-on instruction in how that whole hog becomes their breakfast, lunch or dinner. Read more
Eric Schirtzinger
Jazz reunion
Johannes Wallmann releases “Day and Night,” a new album of originals and standards that brings together some of the players the pianist worked with in New York City. Read more
Christine Hyatt/Capriole Goat Cheese
What about Vermont?
Wisconsin is not the only state producing cheese with nomability. Here are out-of-state faves that fill gaps in the Dairy State’s cheese output. Read more
Mark Brown/University of St. Tho
Meet Art Cullen
The improbable winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing was Art Cullen, editor of “The Storm Lake Times in Iowa. Jane Burns talks to Cullen about the future of independent journalism and the changing face of rural America. Read more
Liz Dueland
The spirits are willing
Pairing cheese with spirits? It’s a thing at Yahara Bay Distillery. Read more
Matthew Norman
Say cheeeeese
The Dutch held the world record for the largest cheese board, with 3,376 pounds. But that’s child’s play to Wisconsinites, who easily set a new record. Read more
Courtesy of Kurt Dietrich
Jazz in the dairy state
Jazz isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you say Wisconsin. But Ripon College music professor Kurt Dietrich had no trouble finding stories to tell in his hefty volume, “Wisconsin Riffs: Jazz Profiles from the Heartland.” Read more
Mary Langenfeld
Speak, memory
The Spark! program is modeled after Meet Me at MoMA, a monthly program at the Museum of Modern Art in New York to engage individuals with dementia and their care partners through art. Read more
Jane Burns
The big cheese
A French sheep’s milk cheese gets top honors at the World Championship Cheese Contest at Monona Terrace. But Wisconsin makes a strong showing. Read more
Kral Photography
Sniff, sample and spit
What does it take to judge the world’s best cheeses at the World Championship Cheese Contest? Isthmus talks to some of the “Red Hats.” Read more
Cedar Grove
Not processed!
Cold pack cheese is as real as curds or aged cheddars. This Wisco hit just keeps on getting better with more cheesemakers coming up with special spreadables. Read more
Jane Burns
The Carpenters buy a coffeehouse
Cheese Underground founder Jeanne Carpenter and her husband are taking over Oregon’s Firefly Coffeehouse. Guess what they’re adding to the menu? Read more
David Stluka
Pack your bags!
Wisconsin Cheese Camp is the place to learn all about artisanal cheese. Jane Burns talks to organizer and cheese geek Jeanne Carpenter. Read more
Jane Burns
Silver linings
Paoli jeweler John/Christine Designs finds the good luck amid the bad. John Strobel runs a gallery with wife Christine, does the art fair circuit and custom-designs pieces. Read more
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Jane Burns
Cheese royalty: From left Kim Rabuck, general manager of Marieke Gouda; Richard Guggisberg of Guggisberg Cheese, and Marieke Penterman of Marieke Gouda.
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Jane Burns
Sylvain Diedrichs, a representative of Savencia Cheese USA, hoists the Best in Show ribbon during the finals of the World Championship Cheese Contest at Monona Terrace.
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Jane Burns
Firefly Coffeehouse founder Erika Weidler, left, with new owner Jeanne Carpenter.
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Jane Burns
John and Christine Strobel.
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Jane Burns
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Jane Burns
Amy and John Whitehead of Cross Plains buy corn at the Statz family self-serve stand.
