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Cougar Gold Cheese photo via WSU website
As the competitive and thrilling March Madness comes to a close, did you know Washington State University is also known for making gourmet cheese and ice cream since the 1930's? They started out small, figuring out their best flavors and techniques. Now they have 8 flavors of cheese and over 20 flavors of ice cream! WSU is recognized for their own dairy and creamery where they created the world renowned Cougar Gold Cheese, a gold and brawny cheddar. Cheesemaking itself is both an art and a science, and at WSU they practice both! On the WSU website I discovered a fun video that goes in depth with the making of Cougar Gold Cheese.
The WSU sports teams are the Washington State Cougars, hence the Cougar Gold Cheese😊 with the bold Cougar team's logo! The Cougar Basketball team is actually playing on Thursday against Texas A&M, a perfect time to celebrate their upcoming game with their delicious Cougar Cheddar!
Winner of several national and international awards, this rich, white cheddar with a smooth and firm texture will wow your taste buds! The unique depth and intensity is something never before experienced. The creamy, lingering flavors leave you wanting more with each bite!
Early in the morning about 18 hundred gallons of milk are taken from the dairy to the creamery to ensure proper butterfat to protein ratio. If there is too much butterfat or protein it can make a cheese too hard or too soft, thus making the skillful art of cheesemaking something to appreciate.
Interesting fact: Cheesemakers used to bounce curds off the floor to gauge whether enough whey had been released!
WSU makes about 15 hundred pounds of Cougar Gold Cheese at the end of a days work, truly spectacular work done by the students. Cougar Gold Cheese can is stored in a 45 degree cooler for an entire year to intensify the flavors, one of the few gourmet cheddars aged for so long. 250,000 cans of this delicious cheese are made a year, sold at their local Ferdinand's cheese and ice cream shop, along with their other award winning cheeses and ice cream flavors! Ferdinand's was named after a WSU student who sold ice cream to raise money for the dairy products judging team. He used Walt Disney's "Ferdinand the Bull' as his logo!
Cougar Gold Cheese is available online through the WSU website and in select grocery stores as well. Experience the authentic tastes and flavors of WSU and indulge in the kindness of supporting student employees. The money earned from sales is used to pay student salaries, as well as to conduct research and support educational programs at the university!
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