FOOD

Hook's Cheese Co. will again release a 20-year cheddar, at $209 a pound; last one sold out

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For only the second time, Hook's Cheese Co. of Mineral Point will release a sharp cheddar aged for 20 years. It's due May 23, and some stores are taking advance orders. The last time the $209-a-pound cheese was released was in 2015.

It’s been five years since it first was released, and now it’s back: Hook’s Cheese Co. of Mineral Point is again selling cheddar aged for 20 years.

It’s among the rarest of the rare, and after spending 20 years in the Hook’s aging caves under the proper temperature and humidity, it will sell for a suggested $209 a pound — the same price it sold for in 2015, the only other time cheesemakers Tony and Julie Hook released a 20-year cheddar.

Again this time, Tony Hook said, half the proceeds will be donated to the Dairy Innovation Hub, which funds dairy research at the Madison, Platteville and River Falls campuses of the University of Wisconsin.

Back in 2015, the entire stock of cheese — 450 pounds of it — sold out in two days in May. This time, Hook’s has 500 pounds of the 20-year cheddar.

The long aging gave the 2015 cheese slightly crunchy lactate crystals, like those found in well-aged Parmigiano-Regiano. The cheese this time again has crystals and is similar in how it tastes, Tony Hook said: “Very smooth, nice clean flavor.”

Larry’s Market in Brown Deer is among the few stores in Wisconsin taking orders in advance of the cheese’s release May 23 and that are willing to ship it; another is Fromagination in Madison. Hook’s also is selling the cheese to distributors, and grocery stores such as Metcalfe’s Market, Whole Foods and Hy-Vee are likely to carry it.

Larry’s Market, 8737 N. Deerwood Drive, is taking orders until Jan. 27, in increments of 4 ounces, 8 ounces or 1 pound.

If it’s like last time, the demand will exceed supply, so the cheddar is first come, first served — meaning it’s wise to order early. Larry’s Market owner Dale Curley recommends ordering through the form on the company’s website, larrysmarket.com, which will be stamped with the time the cheese was ordered.

Fromagination is taking its orders by phone, at (608) 255-2430.

The price reflects the time and labor put into crafting the cheese, Curley said. “It’s a difficult thing,” he said. The cheesemakers have to “make sure as its aging that it’s turning out properly.”

Hook said he taste-tests every vat of cheddar that’s aging at least once a year, “to make sure that it’s developing the way I want.” Not every vat can make it to 20 years.

Most of Hook’s cheddar sells at five years or younger, but some is aged for 10 or 15 years, and a fraction to 20 years.

“We use the same recipe for every cheddar we make,” Hook said, but each tastes different, depending on factors such as the time of year, what the cows have been eating and the weather. “Each batch is going to taste a little bit different,” he said.

The 20-year cheddar is the one cheese at Larry’s that shoppers can’t try before they buy; they’ll be going on faith with the Hooks, who have won World Championship Cheese awards for their products.

“We sample anything else. Anything you want to try at Larry’s Market, we’re all for it ... but when it comes to that one, yeah. No,” Curley said.

Contact dining critic Carol Deptolla at carol.deptolla@jrn.com or (414) 224-2841, or through the Journal Sentinel Food & Home page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter at @mkediner or Instagram at @mke_diner.