Hooks Cheese Co

What Makes Wisconsin Cheddar So Vibrantly Orange | Eater

"Owner Tony Hook explains that the orange color of their cheese comes from annatto—a practice Wisconsin dairy farmers adopted over a century ago to distinguish their product from the white cheddars of New York as Wisconsin rose to dairy dominance. The operation still uses annatto to color its bestselling 5-year cheddar, made from pasteurized local milk from cows raised on southwestern Wisconsin’s limestone-rich soils; the milk is heated with starter culture and color, left to thicken as bacteria grow, and then curds form. It takes roughly 10 pounds of milk to produce one pound of cheese, with the leftover whey repurposed as fertilizer. While the aged cheddar remains popular with restaurants and home cooks, the maker is also experimenting with new products and enjoys seeing customers’ reactions at the farmers market—finding satisfaction in producing something people love." - Eater Video