Why I Oughta...

Ah, yes.  The King of Clubs cold pack cheese.  We meet once again.  Do you like Merkt's?  Then, you'll fall head-over-heels for King of Clubs.  It is - for me - the best of the cold pack cheeses on the market.  I first posted about it in 2017 and have made a trip to the Mars Cheese Castle on the regular ever since.  King of Clubs is the house spread of the Mars Cheese Castle and comes in 2#  and 5# pails .  Yeah...pails.  ( ...at least that's what I call them.  They're technically called 'tubs' on the Mars site, but if you're buying five pounds of cold pack cheese spread, then that's coming in a pail. ) There's no shrinkflation going on with the King of Clubs.  16 ounces is still 16 ounces.   If you find yourself stopping at the Mars Cheese Castle on your way up to Wisconsin (and...let's be honest...you're going to stop, right?), grab a one pounder of the King of Clubs Sharp Cheddar.  Even if it isn't your thing...

It has been a while since I covered a new Wisconsin club cheese - with the last one being back in 2018 .  That club cheese was from the Cheese Box in Lake Geneva ; which we haven't been back to as they're taking the pandemic pretty seriously and are only doing curbside.  In terms of my favorite(s), the King of Clubs from Mars takes the top slot .  I found the Bucky Badger stuff to be right up, there, too. They both are smooth and spreadable.  Just like my gateway drug: Merkts. This post is about Kraemer Cold Pack Cheese that Nat picked up at a roadside stand.  I think she was there buying corn and saw this and grabbed a container of it - because...well...she's the best. I opened it up and it was a little bit 'crumbly'.  Kinda like the Glas natural cold pack cheese - that stuff is very crumbly.   But, I liked this Kraemer Cold Pack Cheese Food more than Glas.  Kinda funny that they call it a "Cold Pack Cheese Food" - not just simply...

Up at the Lake Geneva Walmart the KotBT found this Cheesehead and couldn't resist trying it on.  He said that they have one of these in the 'costume trunk' at his pre-school so he knew what it was immediately.   Are you surprised that they're $22?  I don't know why, but that struck me as being more than I figured they were going for around Wisconsin? This is the same Walmart - about 15 minutes away from Twin Lakes - that sells the cases of Spotted Cow , the Bucky Badger Club Cheese and where we both picked up our fishing license and spotted Chicago Alderman Ed Burke with his security detail looking over a kayak .  Of course, I didn't let the boy get the cheesehead.  Nevermind the price.  We are with Da Bears in our house.  Doesn't mean we don't love us some Wisconsin Cheese like the King of Clubs .  Just not the Cheeseheads. 

I've written numerous posts about club cheese .  It (Club Cheese) is my preferred version of cheese.  Better than cubed or sliced.  My personal favorite is the King of Clubs from Mars Cheese Castle , but I also really like the Bucky Badger Club Cheese - which is far easier to buy.  I've posted about Glas Club Cheese that we bought at the Woodstock Farmer's Market and Brewster House Club Cheese that I didn't love .  On a recent trip up to Wisconsin, Nat wandered into a place called The Cheese Box .  She said it reminded her of Bobby Nelson's , but much closer to home.  On their homepage, they show the inside of the shop and their counter .  Looks like a place I'd love, right? She came home with a few club cheeses including this Mild Cheddar - which was awesome.  This is private labeled for The Cheese Box, but they're not making it, I don't think.  They do, however, make their own curds and Nat scored a container of those (that ...

Like a lot of you guys, we're fans of Mars Cheese Castle.  We make a trip there a few times a year and - of course - come away with a crock of the King of Clubs club cheese.   Turns out, there's a place that lives in the shadow of the Mars Cheese Castle that has decided to take a different tact towards succeeding:  Mars has gone big.  Bobby Nelson?  He's stayed small.  If you've listened to Steve Dahl for any period of time, you might have heard him talk about Bobby Nelson's.  I convinced Nat (and her folks...Dahl fans!) to make the 25 minute drive over to the cheese shop to check it out.  Above you see the sign:  Wisconsin Cheese!  Bobby Nelson is a former wrestler (wrassler) who had the move the "full nelson" named after him ?!?  Kinda awesome. Below is the shop.  If you look closely at the right side of the pic, you can make out one of the turrets of the Mars Cheese Castle.  They're like 300 yards apart. ...

Those of you who have been following along on the blog know a few things about me:  I'm pretty passionate about pizza and gardening.  But also about Club Cheese.  Yeah...Club Cheese.  You might call it Cold Pack Cheese.  Or Cheese spread.  Or a 'tub of cheese'.  Here in Illinois, Merkt's rules the grocery store, but Trader Joe's sells something that is a bit more whipped than Club Cheese that they market under the label "Pub Cheese".  It is all good stuff.  And I'll eat a lot of any variety of the stuff that I come across at parties and social gatherings.  Also, I'll eat a lot of the stuff inside my very own house. Pretzels, tortilla chips, pita chips.  I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to the vessel that I use to scoop up the club cheese and deliver it to my mouth. But, I've had a few Club Cheese experiences that have allowed me to demonstrate a strong preference for a particular variety. Sure, I still stay true to Merkts....

We stopped at the Farmer's Market in Woodstock on a recent Saturday as part of a trip to Twin Lakes.   We were walking to lunch across the square that looks a lot like Stars Hollow (according to Nat!) and while many of the flower and produce stands/vendors didn't make me think twice, when I came across a booth that was selling club cheese , well....I was going to stop.   Turns out, it was a booth from the folks at Glas All Naturals Cheese Spreads .  At the booth, they had a variety of cheeses including the one you see above that I bought: Cheddar.   Glas packages their cheese spreads in glass jars (with *that* name, it seems like a natural fit!) and a metal spin-on lid.  It wasn't cheap at $14, but I figured I'd give it a shot and see what it was like.   You can see on the lid, they state 'keep refrigerated', but during the transaction, they also stressed the freezable nature of this particular club cheese.  They ...

There's a whole world of cheese spreads (cold pack or Club Cheese or Crock Cheese) that I've been introduced to with our trips to Twin Lakes in Wisconsin.  The breadth of the offerings in the Club Cheese category at the grocery store is simply amazing in Wisconsin.  I feel like I just woke up.  The latest is this stuff from Shullsburg Creamery.   Shullsburg makes tons of cheeses , but they also have a strong entry in the Club Cheese category. Called "The Brewster House Old Fashioned Spreadable Cheese", this isn't topping the King of Clubs from Mars .  Nope.  But this is different.  More like cream cheese than anything else.  It is smoother, easier to spread that Merkt's or King of Clubs.  But is super tasty.   Won't hold up to all of the applications, but works really well on things like pretzels.  With King of Clubs or Merkt's, when you take it out of the fridge and try to spread it, you end up breaking your various chips and ...

I've been a Merkt's guy for a while.  Sharp Cheddar.  Sure, I'll eat the Pub Cheese from Trader Joe's.  Or if a tub of Kaukauna shows up for a party or get together...I'll slather healthy amounts of it on crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips or what-have-yous.  But it was always Merkt's that I came back to. Until now. I've found my new love and it is the King of Clubs Sharp Cheddar Cold Pack Cheese Food .  Yeah...Cheese food.  From the folks at the Mars Cheese Castle comes their house brand of cheese spread .  They offer it in one pound size but also in five pound size .  I probably need to stay away from the five pounder, because the one pound version barely lasted the weekend.  (the 18 ounce crock is cute, though.  Might become my go-to party-going bring-along?  Keep a few of them on hand?  I have to think that this stuff - being 'cheese food' - will last quite a while, right??) They serve the King of Clubs in their ...