Cheese isn't just another dairy product to John Partridge.
"There's a lot of art in cheese-making - you can't just take a recipe and follow it," the food science and human nutrition professor said. "A lot of it is feel - you can take a bunch of curd in your hand and feel it and just know if it's right."
And while many MSU students might not realize the art of transforming milk curd into cheese, they are enjoying it more often.
According to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American now eats 30 pounds of cheese a year. That's a big jump from the six-pound annual average in 1944.
Why such a large increase? Partridge said it's mainly due to dietary changes.
McDonald's is the No. 1 cheese-seller in the world, dairy production technician Rodney Clark said.
"You can start with cheese on your breakfast sandwich and get it on everything from there," he said.
But cheeseburgers and other fast food fare aren't the biggest contributors - studies show Americans are eating much more pizza now than half a century ago.
"If you look at the consumption of American-style cheeses, they're steadily rising," said Partridge. "But Italian cheeses, like mozzarella, have just gone through the roof."
To deal with growing consumption and changing technology, the size of dairy plants has changed dramatically over the past 15 years.
There were more than 150 dairy processors in the Detroit area in 1950; today there are about five. Modern production plants can handle up to 300,000 pounds of cheese a day, Partridge said.
But there's still a home for smaller plants such as the MSU Dairy Plant.
Specialty cheeses, like the dagano cheese, a Danish cheese related to Swiss, are becoming more popular as the American palate is becoming more adventurous, Partridge said.
The MSU plant can make 600 pounds of cheddar cheese each day and is the only manufacturer of dagano cheese. MSU developed the cheese in 1961.
Another MSU specialty is chocolate cheese. Rob Bable, a senior in biosystems engineering, worked Tuesday morning to make 160 pounds of the cheese, which is a combination of cheddar cheese, cocoa and nuts.
Bable said he didn't think chocolate cheese is responsible for an increase in cheese consumption, but it's a popular novelty.
Graduate student Eric Graf said the popularity is probably because of its uniqueness - many alumni and visitors are chocolate-cheese consumers.
"Some guy came in and bought $30 worth of chocolate cheese," Bable said.
Visitors can watch cheese being made in the MSU Dairy Plant from the observation balcony, located on the second floor of Anthony Hall.
Cheese will be made next Tuesday and Wednesday from about 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information, call (517) 355-7713.
