Americans are eating more cheese than ever–more than 30 pounds a person per year–and their appetite for more variety is growing, a national survey says.
In 2003, Americans ate a record 8.8 billion pounds of cheese. That’s two and a half pounds a month for every man, woman and child, according to a survey released by the California Milk Advisory Board.
Most of the demand is being fed by domestic suppliers, and California’s mega-dairies are growing so fast that analysts expect the state to overtake Wisconsin in cheese production within two years.
California is already the nation’s leading milk producer, and with the help of cheesemakers such as Hilmar Cheese Company–the largest in North America–the state has doubled its cheese production in the last decade.
In 1995, California made 70 varieties of cheese. Now there are 250 types of cheese coming out of the state–815 million pounds of specialty flavored, rinsed, aged or fresh cheese per year.
The vast majority is commodity cheese, but Americans also are consuming much more specialty cheeses. Blues, sharps, aged varieties and fresh ones have grown five times as fast in the last decade as the cheddars and mozzarellas, the research showed.
One out of every 10 pounds of cheese eaten is a higher-quality, value-added cheese such as artisan or farmstead varieties. Ten years ago, only one in 15 pounds of cheese consumed was specialty.
“People are traveling more, experiencing some of the cheeses in Europe, then looking for those cheeses in the U.S.,” board spokeswoman Nancy Fletcher said.
“People are eating more pizza, going out to eat more, and the demand for cheese has increased significantly,” said Michael Marsh, CEO of Western United Dairymen, whose members produce 60 percent of California’s milk.
America’s hunger for cheese was dampened a bit when consumers traveled and ate out less after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Now their appetite is back, which is good for the dairy business, but hard on already expanding waistlines.
Cheese has great nutritious value and brings calcium back into diets in which milk has been substituted by sodas. But it also makes food taste better, making it easier to eat too much, said Judith S. Stern, vice president of the American Obesity Association.
“It’s terrific that we’re eating more cheese, but bottom line, all calories count,” said Stern, who also teaches nutrition at the University of California, Davis. She suggests people should “try to eat cheese in slightly different ways, with pears or apple slices–expanding your diet.”
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
