The high-stakes world of professional cheese-making was shocked and rocked by an upset at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wis.: The Netherlands ended Switzerland's three-year winning streak when Dutch cheese Vermeer was named the best cheese IN THE WORLD! And yesterday, a 24-pound wheel of said cheese was auctioned off for $8,400 -- that's $350 per pound. The low-fat Gouda-style cheese made by Friesland Campina of the Netherlands was sold to an Illinois company that makes dairy products for industrial manufacturers, so perhaps its creamy goodness will be replicated on a wider scale someday. The charitable auction raised $140,000 to help educate cheesemakers.
