Of the state’s 126 cheese plants, 92 manufactured at least one type of specialty cheese during 2009, up 4 plants from a year ago. Feta, with a 3 percent increase in production, was the state’s most popular specialty cheese. Blue, Hispanic types, specialty Mozzarella varieties, Parmesan Wheel, and specialty Provolone cheeses were other popular categories.

Wisconsin cheese makers are known for offering a wide vari-ety of high quality specialty cheeses. A specialty cheese is a value-added product which commands a premium price. Ac-cording to the Wisconsin Specialty Cheese Institute, the na-ture of specialty cheese is derived from one or more unique qualities, such as exotic origin, particular processing or de-sign, limited supply, unusual application or use, and extraor-dinary packaging or channel of sale. The common denomina-tor is its very high quality.