King's Ransom

Producer/Affineur: Roelli Cheese Haus / C. Hesse Cheese
Origin: Shullsburg, Wisconsin
Milk Type: Cow
Milk Treatment: Pasteurized
Texture: Semi-Hard
Style: Tomme
Rind Type: Washed Rind
Rennet: Traditional
Mouthfeel: Toothsome, dense
Flavor: Slight sharp note, mineral

C. Hesse Cheese is a one woman show owned and operated by Caroline Hesse. Founded in 2022, C. Hesse Cheese specializes in selecting quality products from people who feel just as passionately about cheese as she does. Prior to opening her own business. Hesse has held a variety of positions in the cheese industry, from a cheesemaking apprenticeship at Cricket Creek Farm, to mongering at shops around New York City, to most recently running the sales division of Crown Finish Caves. C. Hesse represents a variety of creameries from around the US and Europe, and most notably is working on resurrecting cheeses from Crown Finish Caves, including King’s Ransom from Roelli Cheese Haus, Bufarolo from Quattro Portoni, and Bismark from Grafton Village Cheese Company.

Roelli Cheese started as a family business way back in the early 1920s and sadly closed in 1991. Four generations later, Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Chris Roelli re-opened the factory to carry on his family tradition and commitment to quality. The cheeses are always made from great granddad’s original recipes, hand-crafted, and cellar cured in limited batches.

King's Ransom represents a collaboration between Roelli Cheese Haus and C. Hesse Cheese. It is made in the style of a German bier käse. It's toothsome and dense, with a hard texture. The washed rind is lightly funky, but still easy to eat. Snackable and lovely.