4 Minnesota cheeses take home awards at large cheese competition

Four kinds of cheese made in Minnesota took home top prizes at the recent American Cheese Society Judging and Competition.

The competition is one of the biggest for American-made cheeses with more than 1,400 cheeses competing in 120 categories.

A Shepherd’s Way Farms cheese, Burr Oak, took home a first place finish in the “Farmstead Category — Aged 60 days or more — made from sheep’s milk” sub-category in the Farmstead Cheeses category.

Last year, this same cheese placed third in the same category.

Another Sheperd’s Way Farms cheese, a sheep’s milk cheese called Sogn, placed second in the “Sheep’s Milk Cheese Aged 31 to 60 Days” category within the sheep’s milk cheese category.

This cheese also placed better than last year when it took home third place in a similar category.

Shepard’s Way Farms cheeses are produced at a farm about an hour south of Minneapolis.

A Prairie Farms blue cheese made at the Caves of Faribault, AmaBlu® Cave-Aged Blue Cheese, placed second in the “Rindless Blue-veined — made from cow’s milk” sub-category within the blue mold cheese category.

In 2023, their AmaGorg blue cheese took home third place in the same category.

CannonBelles Cheese’s Grim Reaper Cheddar took home second place in the “KH: Cheddar with hot pepper (capsaicin) / spicy flavor added (intended hot) — all milks” sub-category in the Flavored Cheeses, Butter, and Cultured Dairy.

CannonBelles cheese is produced in Cannon Falls.

You can view the full list of the 2024 winners HERE and the 2023 winners HERE.