Eideard

There it was, amid the long list of crucial bills that state legislators in Wisconsin were racing to vote on before their session ends next week: A bill to select the state’s official microbe. Yes, microbe.

Peculiar, perhaps, until one considers what appeared to be the extremely short list of contenders (one) for this state honor — none other than Lactococcus lactis, the bacterium used to make cheddar, Colby and Monterey Jack cheese, and an unsung hero in this, the nation’s No. 1 cheese-producing state.

“The first time I heard the idea, I thought, I’ve got more important things to do than spending my time honoring a microbe,” said Gary Hebl, a Democratic state representative who proposed the bill which, he says, would make Wisconsin the first state in the nation to grant such a designation. “But this microbe is really a very hard worker…”

The proposal in Wisconsin had faced only one detractor in committee – “the opponent was clearly lactose intolerant,” Mr. Hebl said.

The article mentions in passing that here in New Mexico we have a State Question: Red or Green. There is a third answer for those of you who can’t figure out which chile sauce you prefer. It is “Christmas.”

Britain has overtaken France and Italy in the number of cheeses it manufactures. According to Juliet Harbutt, a global authority on cheese who organises the British Cheese Awards, about 700 varieties now boast a “Made in Britain” label. This is 100 more varieties than France produces, and twice as many as Italy.

Britain’s cheese-making renaissance began 20 years ago when many of the nation’s 200 specialist cheese companies started operations. The big reduction, 15 years ago, in the powers of the Milk Marketing Board, which had bought up most milk from producers, and the introduction of European Union milk quotas in the 1980s, both proved the spur for dairy farmers to look for other ways of using their core product.

The most famous of British cheeses is perhaps Cheddar, and some specialist varieties can sell for as much as 15 pounds a kilo (24 U.S. dollars). There are 10 families of British cheese, amongst them Cheshire, Stilton and Double Gloucester. However, British manufacturers have shown a rare skill in devising new recipes. But like any bespoke product, they are mainly produced in small production runs of just a few tonnes a year…

France’s postwar leader, General Charles de Gaulle once famously said, “How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?” Gordon Brown may be pondering the same question as he tucks into some Stilton during the festive break.

This won’t make any headway with folks whose only association with food in the UK is figuring out who ate all the pies at a football match in Wigan.