I just wrapped up a two-week trip to Europe where we ate some incredible food, but you don't have to drive too far from Rochester to find the best cheese in the country.

I'm guessing it's because I was born and raised in Wisconsin-- America's Dairyland, mind you-- but I LOVE me some cheese. Doesn't matter what kind, I love it-- and the more the better.

Which is why it was cool to find out that the BEST cheese here in the U.S. of A. is just a hop, skip and a jump away from Minnesota's Med City. All you have to do is drive over to near Durand, Wisconsin to find Eau Galle (which is pronounced, 'Oh GALLEY' btw) Cheese Factory.

That's because this Volume One magazine story (which I read while waiting for our flight from Paris to Barcelona) says Eau Galle Cheese Factory makes the best asiago cheese in the country. At the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay, Eau Galle won Best of Class awards for both fresh Asiago and aged Asiago. Both kinds of cheese scored 99 points out of 100 to win the awards.

So, yeah, that's some pretty good cheese. The thing is, though, even if you're a cheese lover, like me, you still probably haven't heard of Eau Galle Cheese Factory. (I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't).

That's because while they MAKE that award-winning cheese, they then sell it to other brands, appearing on store shelves across the country under a different name. "If you’ve eaten Sargento Parmesan, for example, you’ve likely eaten Eau Galle cheese," the story noted.

You can still buy Eau Galle Cheese Factory cheese, though, if you head to their factory shop, on Wisconsin Highway-85 over in Durand. (Which is about an hour and twenty minutes away from Rochester.)

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

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