The Week in Food

America's First Cheese Factory

BY Jasmin Sun | POSTED JULY 20, 2012 AT 3:45PM EDT

Mass-produced cheese, invented in 1851, makes creating melted sandwiches like Laura Werlin's New American Grilled Cheese a snap. // © Quentin Bacon

Equally maligned and defended, mass-produced cheese dates back to July 20, 1851, when upstate New York dairy farmer Jesse Williams founded America's first cheese factory. Williams discovered that he could create cheeses more efficiently and with more uniform taste and texture by pooling milk purchased from local farmers and making large batches using a basic assembly line.

While domestic small batch cheeses are now more popular than ever, familiar supermarket hunks and slices are still plucked off grocery shelves to make ultra-melty additions to burgers and especially grilled cheese. Cheese master Laura Werlin likes mixing Monterey Jack into her delicious New American Grilled Cheese with hearty andouille sausage.

Follow Jasmin on Twitter @jasminsun.

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