The Cheese Olympics

The Cheese Olympics

Every two years, hundreds of cheeses are sent in from across the USA to Milwaukee for the Championship Cheese Contest.

Fourteen judges will sniff, taste and poke the cheeses to determine the winner of the title U.S. champion of cheese today.

John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, says:

"It's kind of like the Olympics where you start out with a 10 and your flaws are downgraded,".

There are 50 criteria on which the cheeses are judged including; too fruity, too flat, too curdy, too gassy, colour, rind, dents, texture and body.

The judges chew the cheese, allow it to cover their tongue for a few seconds, spit it out and then smell the aroma.

Seven new classes of cheese have been added including; Havarti, Quesos Frescos and Pepper Flavored Cheese.

However, cheese making is a random biological process and the cheese makers are not allowed to cut or taste the cheese they send to the contest. Therefore all bets are still open as to who will win this year.