Cheeseheads? Nah. Minnesota hosts true fromagières. 

A football stadium is hardly where you’d expect to find fine artisanal cheeses. Yet each spring, Huntington Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota hosts the American Cheese Society’s annual competition, judging the best cheeses made in the Americas. This year, MinnPost’s Taylor Canas and I got to attend.

My stomach began grumbling as soon as I stepped onto the stadium loading dock. An earthy, pungent aroma wafted from one cart; a sweeter, more buttery smell from another. At the main judging area on an upper deck, discerning cheese experts  smelled, tasted, and chewed small bites, evaluating technical and aesthetic criteria.

The American Cheese Society was founded in 1983 by Frank Kosikowski, Cornell University dairy scientist and a godfather o...