Champion cheese sells for $8,400 at auction

[Hum]

MILWAUKEE -- A 24-pound Dutch cheese named the best in the world last month has been auctioned off for $8,400, or $350 per pound, in Wisconsin.

The wheel of Vermeer, a low-fat Gouda-style cheese, scored a mild upset at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, beating out two cheeses from Switzerland and preventing the Swiss from capturing a fourth straight title.

Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association spokesman John Umhoefer said Thursday it was sold as part of an auction that raised $140,000 to help educate cheesemakers. An Illinois company that supplies dairy products to industrial manufacturers bought it.

The cheese made by Friesland Campina of Steenderen, Netherlands, wasn't the most expensive sold Wednesday. A 32-pound set of three gold-medal cheeses produced a Wisconsin company went for $500 per pound.

source