2022 Minnesota State Fair Recap

Like (most) Minnesotans, we adore the MN State Fair.  It’s a time to come together to celebrate all things Minnesota!  We love everything about the fair experience - the food, the animals, the art, and (our favorite) the Dairy Building, which features the famed Princess Kay butter sculptures plus malts and sundaes.  Before we talk to you about our participation in the fair, we wanted to give you a quick glimpse at some of our favorites from the day!

One of the main buildings at the State Fair that is a go-to for us is the Agriculture Horticulture Building.  There is so much to see and do in this building, so allow yourself some time.  This author’s favorite thing at the State Fair is the crop art.  What’s crop art?  It’s a collection of art that is created using all Minnesota-grown seeds.  These artists are incredibly creative in their crop art, and their skill levels are beyond impressive.

We also come for the FOOD!  Fair food is the best, because who doesn’t love deep-fried goodness?  Our favorites from the day were the Corn-on-the-Cob (who can resist) and the Reuben Eggrolls.  The corn-on-the-cob made us crave the Elote Mac and Cheese* we made a few years ago and the Reuben Eggrolls from O’Gara’s were a tasty treat.  We personally think they would be even better with some St. Helga’s Swiss in them.  These also may have inspired this month’s recipe and cheese feature….

Once we were well-fed, and done walking, it was time to get to work.  We collaborated with a couple MN Creameries (Redhead Creamery and Shepherd's Way Farm) as well as MN Wine Country to bring you some of our favorite MN wine and cheese pairings.  It’s a hard job to talk about cheese and wine pairings, but someone has to do it!  We loved this class because it followed one of our favorite rules of thumb when it comes to wine and cheese pairing – “what grows together, goes together.”  If you want to try these pairings at home, we encourage you to shop and eat local!

• Shepherd's Way Farm Friesago - Frontenac Rosé - Saint Croix Vineyards
• Caves of Faribault Natural Rind Swiss- Gunflint Gris - Cannon River Winery
• Redhead Creamery Garlic Cheddar- Petite Pearl - Garvin Heights Vineyards
• Caves of Faribault Felix - Frontenac - Saint Croix Vineyards

Our cheeses were not only featured at MN Wine Country, but by Kowalski’s when they took over the Cambria Kitchen in the Creative Arts Building.  Kowalski's Certified Cheese Professional Liz Nerud took the stage to highlight Minnesota artisan cheeses.  These included the classic Blue St Pete's Select from the Caves of Faribault, Redhead Creamery's Little Lucy Brie, Alemar's washed rind Good Thunder and the latest award winner from Shepherd's Way, Sogn Tomme. The emphasis in her talk was to celebrate the distinctive styles of these cheeses, and share the stories of the people that make them.  She discussed the purpose of microbes in creating flavor profile and texture in these cheeses.  Fair goers were treated to samples of the delicious Sogn Tomme and a special presentation of bruleed Little Lucy, which was served on Baker's Field bread, another Minnesota treasure.

So, that’s how the Caves of Faribault experiences the State Fair.  Don’t worry, on our way out we went to say hi to all the lovely ladies who provide us, and other MN cheesemakers, with the milk they need to make award-winning cheeses (yes, we are talking about all the Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein, Jersey, Milking Shorthorn and Red & White cows).

*With MN sweet corn in season, we suggest you hop over to this link when you finish this blog and pick up some Cherubic Gouda to make our Elote Mac and Cheese.