Entries in the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest have risen a stunning 18 percent to 2,313 cheeses and butters from around the world, according to Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, host of the competition set for March 16-18, 2010.

The Contest, held in even-numbered years since 1958, received entries from 20 nations around the globe. An international panel of 30 cheese evaluation experts will work three days at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, to select medalists in 80 cheese and butter classes.

In 2008, the World Championship Cheese Contest set a record with 1,957 entries. “For the first time, each continent has offered cheese to the contest. The art of cheesemaking is thriving in nations around the globe,” Umhoefer said. “No other competition captures the breadth and depth of international cheesemaking,” he added.

Cheesemakers and buttermakers will send entries to Wisconsin by March 10 for the competition, including makers in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United States.

Thirty states in the U.S. will send cheese or butter entries as well as the Canadian provinces Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. The number of participating U.S. states includes cheese and butters from California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association has expanded its expert judging panel in 2010 to 30 individuals from 12 nations. Strong growth in 2010 means additional  cheese evaluation experts will be called upon to serve including Will Schlinsog (the contest chief judge emeritus), Stan Dietsche with Oshkosh Cheese Sales & Storage, Tim Czmowski with Trega Foods Ltd. and other Wisconsin cheese grading professionals.

“The cornerstone of this competition is a fair, objective evaluation of entries,” said Robert Aschebrock, contest chief judge, a career cheese and butter grader and  inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “We’re pleased to post contest result on-line and return original score sheets to entrants to provide complete transparency and a real educational opportunity for industry.”

Strong growth in the contest is reflected in several cheese categories. Bandaged cheddar entries nearly doubled in 2010 along with rinded Swiss styles, brie cheeses and spreadable cheeses. Significant increases are noted in classes for gorgonzola, ricotta, blue veined cheeses, smear-ripened cheeses, flavored cheeses, reduced fat cheeses and semi-soft goat’s milk and sheep’s milk cheeses. The new reduced sodium cheese class debuted with a respectable 10 entries and the shredded cheese evaluation, new in 2008, grew from 5 to 20 entries.

The World Championship Cheese Contest is a technical evaluation of entries, using an objective measure of cheese defects to select the products in each class that best exemplify perfection for a cheese variety. The highest scoring cheeses and butters earn a gold medal, with silver and bronze medals awarded to second and third place finishers in each class.

On Thursday morning, March 18, the entire international team of expert judges will convene for the Championship Round of judging. The 77 gold medal cheeses from cow, goat and sheep milk classes will be evaluated again and the highest scoring cheeses named World Champion and First and Second Runners-Up.

In 2008, cheesemaker Michael Spycher of Kaserei Fritzenhaus in Wasen, Switzerland, was named World Champion in the Championship Round for his Le Gruyere Switzerland.

The Championship Round, 8:30 to 12:00 CST on March 18, will be broadcast as a live, video-streamed program on the WCMA website. In addition, contest result and digital images will be posted on the website throughout the competition. Visit www.worldchampioncheese.org for complete contest coverage.

Winners from around the globe will travel to Madison to receive their awards during the International Cheese Technology Exposition, April 20-22, 2010. During the Expo, gold medal cheeses are auctioned to support the contest, scholarships and the WCMA Member Education Initiative. The Expo concludes April 22 with a gala awards banquet for the winning manufacturers.