Insight and Expertise In The Cheese Making Community

Whether you’re new to our brand or a long-time friend, you’ve probably noticed we are pretty passionate about our cave-aging process.  (After all, it’s in our name!)  Most recently, we even made our caves the star on our redesigned packaging, highlighting the important role they play in the making and aging of our one-of-a-kind cheeses.  So what’s so fascinating about them?  We asked Affinage & Warehouse Manager Tara Schaal to lift the veil on the what goes on inside those majestic bluffs and how it translates into great tasting cheese.

When Tara Schaal first set foot into the majestic sandstone caves on her first day on the job at Caves of Faribault, her first thought was, “Who knew this much work went into cheese?!”  Now it is Tara’s hard work and dedication in her dual roles as both Warehouse Supervisor and Affinage Supervisor that keep operations running smoothly. 

We know how unique and special our cheeses are, and if you’re on our website reading this, we hope you do, too!  But as any cheese lover knows, the specialty cheese category is extremely cluttered, and we are always striving for new and better ways to be seen on the shelf by cheese connoisseurs like yourself!  After last undergoing a packaging redesign in 2016, the time had come again for us to respond to the challenge of how we can communicate our rich history, our special location on the map and our unique aging process in a way where consumers take note.  To achieve this end, we partnered with Design Resource Center (DRC) out of Chicago, a design firm who specializes in consumer goods packaging, to help create the new face for the Caves of Faribault.

Fall is in the air and we’re already starting to trade those long summer nights for darker fall evenings. Reminders of a new season are everywhere in nature, from the colorful leaves to the crisper temps. Did you know these changing seasons can not only be seen, but can be tasted? That’s right – a cheese’s flavor profile subtly changes through the seasons, and it all goes back to the milk.

What do olives, Dick Clark and a missed flight have in common?  This question doesn’t have a punch line; rather, they are all a part of Sonya Leitner’s rich and colorful career history.  We caught up with Faribault’s National Account Manager to talk passion and partnership and find out Sonya’s approach to selling a product she loves.

Last month we celebrated American Cheese Month, and now in June we tip our hats to dairy.  June Dairy Month started back in the 1930s and was originally called “National Milk Month.”  The name was quickly changed to encompass all things dairy and celebrate the nutritious and delicious contributions the dairy industry has made.  We’d be remiss if we didn’t focus our attention this month on by far the most key ingredient involved in making cheese – the milk.  Where does the milk used to make Caves of Faribault cheeses come from?  To find the answer, you must travel 160 miles south on 1-35 to the town of Rolfe, Iowa, home of Dutchland Dairy.

May is upon us, and for American Cheesemakers like us, it’s a month-long celebration!  That’s because May is officially American Cheese Month!   As the brainchild of the American Cheese Society and the American Cheese Education Foundation, American Cheese Month highlights the scrumptious selection of American-made cheeses and champions the entire chain of people involved in the process of their creation and distribution.  In honor of this special month, we’re sharing five ways you can join the party!

Here at the Caves of Faribault, we are proud to be a part of Minnesota’s rich agricultural past, present and future.  From our humble beginnings, when the first commercially-produced American Blue cheese was produced in our caves in 1936, to today where we continue to make award-winning Blue cheeses, being a Minnesota cheese producer is who we are.  One part of the industry we love are the people.  Our friends, peers and supporters are the reason we keep striving to make the best Blue cheese and cave-aged products that we possibly can.

If you haven’t already noticed, we are big on celebrating holidays by enjoying cheesy, decadent food. Or maybe, we are big on finding a reason to enjoy all these cheese-inspired recipes, and we use the holidays as an excuse. Either way, it works for us. We are firm believers that you can never have too much cheese in your life, so why not use the holidays to enjoy. St. Patrick’s Day may not be a holiday that everyone celebrates, but you don’t have to be Irish to take part in these good eats. Here are some of our favorite Irish-inspired recipes to help you get into the celebrating mood.

With the weather being chilly and hibernating at home being in full effect (well, here in MN anyway), we thought we’d talk about some of our favorite warm cheesy dips to eat while vegging out at the house.  ‘Cause if you are going to be stuck inside, there had better be some cheesy snacks.