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Award-winning Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese is made with milk produced by cows from the Crave family’s own dairy herd, so it’s no surprise that the cows are winning awards, too. Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese and Crave Brothers Farm continue their cows-to-cheese family tradition of excellence with their most recent prestigious awards. To begin with, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese earned three First Place Awards for Crave Brothers Mascarpone, Crave Brothers Chocolate Mascarpone, and Crave Brothers White Cheddar Cheese Curds in the 2019 Annual American Cheese Society Conference and Competition. The competition was held in Richmond, Virginia, July 31 to August 3. All told, 1,742 entries from 257 companies competed in this year’s competition. Crave Brothers Chocolate Mascarpone was the only Wisconsin cheese to be included as one of the 20 cheeses qualified for Best of Show.

Crave Brothers Oaxaca also received Third Place honors in the American Cheese Society Judging and Competition. Oaxaca is a traditional style of Mexican cheese with excellent melting properties. It is ideal for sandwiches, quesadillas, dips and a variety of baked recipes.

In other competition news, Crave Brothers have won recent dairy cow awards as well as additional cheese awards. At the Wisconsin Championship Holstein Show held in Madison in July, Sunmade Crave Jacoby Jazz won First Place in the Fall Heifer Calf category and was named Junior Champion of the open show. At the 2019 Wisconsin Jr. State Fair, Crave Expander won First Place in the December calf category. Also at the state fair, Crave Brothers Mascarpone and Crave Brothers Fresh Mozzarella earned Second Place awards in the cheese competition.

Crave Brothers Mascarpone has received a total of more than 33 awards, with over 16 First Place awards to its credit. This sweet, creamy cheese adds a velvety texture as well as richness to soups, sauces, sandwiches and desserts. For sweet meal endings, pair Mascarpone with fresh berries, ginger snaps, shortbread cookies, or flavors such as lemon and honey.

Crave Brothers Chocolate Mascarpone is a ready-made dessert treat on its own, but it’s also a luxurious dessert waiting to happen. Pair Chocolate Mascarpone with mini cupcakes, use it as a rich icing, or feature it in creamy chocolate pies with cookie crumb or graham cracker crusts. Give your imagination free reign to develop memorable mousses combining liqueur, cherries, banana slices or dark chocolate chips with Crave Brothers Chocolate Mascarpone.

This year’s American Cheese Society honor for White Cheddar Cheese Curds marks the fourth time that Crave Brothers Cheddar Cheese Curds have received First Place recognition. Recently, Crave Brothers Cheddar Cheese Curds also were voted 2nd Place Winner in USA Today’s Best Cheese Curds competition.

Cheddar Cheese Curds are a fresh snack cheese with a mild, salty flavor that complements ciders, beer and fruit juices. They can also be added to bowls of chili or appetizer plates. Crave Brothers Cheddar Cheese Curds are available in White Cheddar, Yellow Cheddar and Jalapeño Cheddar varieties.

In addition to winning its new Second Place Award at the 2019 Wisconsin State Fair, Crave Brothers Fresh Mozzarella has received more than 40 awards, including two First Place Awards at the 2019 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. Crave Brothers Fresh Mozzarella is available in sizes ranging from perline (pearl size) to ciliegine (cherry size), bocconcini (ball size), ovoline (egg size), as well as medallions, 8-ounce balls, 1-pound balls, and 1-pound logs.

The making of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese is overseen by licensed cheese maker George Crave. Crave Brothers Cheese is sustainably produced in the family’s farmstead cheese-making facility that practices water conservation, recycling, and uses 100 percent green power.

For additional product details from Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, visit www.cravecheese.com. You’ll also find recipe suggestions, more details about the award-winning line of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, and videos highlighting the Crave Brothers green story.

The Crave family farms 2,500 acres of productive land in south-central Wisconsin, growing soybeans, corn and alfalfa to use as nutritious feed for their Holstein cows. From the biodigester to water recovery and recycling, sustainability is top-of-mind on the farm. The Crave Brothers Farm LLC and Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese LLC use 100% green power and are carbon-negative businesses. Their anaerobic biodigester produces more electricity than they need, enough to power the dairy farm, the farmstead cheese-making plant, and over 300 homes in their community.

Every pound of cheese made by George Crave, a licensed cheese maker, is made with milk from the family’s herd. Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese produces Fresh Mozzarella, Mascarpone, Part-skim Mozzarella, Oaxaca, Farmer’s Rope String Cheese, and Fresh Cheddar Cheese Curds in white, yellow and jalapeño varieties.