(September 22, 2004) Americans love cheese. So much so that per capita cheese consumption has increased steadily for more than two decades. Last year, Americans ate a whopping 30.6 pounds of natural cheese each, on average.
The California Milk Advisory Board, representing the nation's leading milk producing state, recently conducted a study of America's cheese consumption habits and the results show that our tastes in cheese are expanding. (For background on the study, see footnotes.)
Following are highlights from the study about the cheeses we love to eat and where they come from:
- AMERICANS ARE EATING MORE CHEESE THAN EVER
- In 2003, Americans consumed 8.8 billion pounds of natural cheese. On a per capita basis, the average American ate 30.6 pounds of natural cheese in 2003. That's four pounds more per person than in 1994 and 19.5 pounds more than in 1970. Overall, Americans ate 1.8 billion pounds more cheese in 2003 than in 1994. Approximately half of that increase was supplied by California, the fastest-growing cheese producer.
- AMERICANS PREFER AMERICAN-MADE CHEESES TO IMPORTS
- For the past decade, imported cheese consumption has hovered around five percent of total U.S. consumption while domestic consumption grew dramatically. Americans consumed nearly two billion more pounds of cheese in 2003 than in 1994, and 92 percent of that growth was supplied by U.S. cheesemakers.
- WHY AMERICANS LOVE COWS
- Goat and sheep milk make excellent cheese, but the bovines win hooves down. More than 99 percent of the cheese Americans purchase is made with cow's milk.
- THE BIG CHEESE TITLE IS MOVING WEST
- While Wisconsin remains the number one cheese producer, California is second largest and growing fast. Experts estimate that California will claim the title of "Big Cheese" within the next year or so. California already produces the most milk of any state and has the most dairy cows - 1.7 million.
- OUR CHEESE TASTES ARE BROADENING
- Nine out of every 10 pounds of cheese we eat today are the most popular types found in supermarkets, such as Cheddar and Jack. But our palates are becoming more adventuresome and specialty cheese consumption has grown five times faster than total cheese consumption in the past decade.
- AMERICANS ARE STUCK ON MOZZARELLA
- It will be no surprise to pizza lovers that the single most frequently eaten cheese is Mozzarella, which recently edged past Cheddar in popularity. Americans ate 2.8 billion pounds of gooey Mozzarella in 2003, the majority of which came from California, the country's largest producer. Cheddar was a close second and we ate 2.7 billion pounds of that.
- OTHER CHEESES WE LOVE
- After Mozzarella and Cheddar, the most popular cheeses among the top five, based on consumption, are Monterey Jack, Cream Cheese (including similar types), and Swiss.
- OUR FAVORITE SPECIALTY CHEESES
- The most popular specialty cheese varieties, based on consumption, are Parmesan, Provolone, Feta, Cheddar (specialty forms) and Romano.
- WE HAVE A GROWING APPETITE FOR "QUESO"
- Hispanic-style cheeses are a rapidly growing category. This family of cheeses, which includes more than two dozen different varieties and types of fresh and aged cheeses with an Hispanic heritage, reached 133 million pounds in U.S. production last year. California produces two-thirds of the country's supply of Hispanic-style cheeses.
- THE MOST POPULAR CHEESE CREATED IN AMERICA IS MONTEREY JACK
- Americans consumed nearly a billion pounds of Monterey Jack (and its many variations) in 2003. Americans now eat almost a pound more Monterey Jack each year than they did 10 years ago. Jack is descended from a simple but delicious cheese created in the California missions more than 200 years ago. It got its name in the late 1800s from David Jacks, a California businessman who was the first to commercialize it.
- AMERICA HAS 440 CHEESEMAKERS
- This includes more than 350 producers of specialty, artisan and farmstead cheeses. While most states have at least one cheese plant, more than two-thirds of the specialty cheesemakers in the country are located in just three regions - California, Wisconsin and New England. Many cheesemakers now invite visitors to stop by and sample cheese and learn more about cheesemaking practices. For a visitor's map to California cheesemakers, visit www.RealCaliforniaCheese.com.
- CALIFORNIA HAS THE WORLD'S BIGGEST CHEESE PLANT
- The largest cheese plant in the world, located in California, produces more than one million pounds of cheese each day. More than 100,000 California cows owe their careers to this single facility. (It takes about 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese.) California is now home to four of the country's 10 largest cheese plants.
- AMERICANS PURCHASED $40 BILLION WORTH OF CHEESE LAST YEAR
- The market value of all cheese consumed in the U.S. was nearly $40 billion in 2003. In addition to supermarket sales, this includes cheese sold through restaurants and fast food outlets, as well as the cheese sold as ingredients in frozen and packaged foods.
About This Study
The information provided here is taken from the study, "U.S. Cheese Consumption Trends; 1994-2003," conducted for the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) in 2004 by J/D/G Consulting, Delray Beach, Florida, a leading dairy industry research firm.
For purposes of the study, "Specialty Cheese" was defined as "natural cheese that commands a higher price than a commodity cheese because of its high quality, limited production and value-added production techniques or ingredients." This category includes the U.S. artisan and farmstead cheeses that have become so popular in recent years.