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December 10, 2020

Made by Steve’s Cheese Denmark, Here’s the World’s Largest Cheese!

To promote its status as the big cheese of America’s dairy producers, Wisconsin created just that – a gigantic hunk of cheddar for the Midwestern state’s pavilion at the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York.

Colored postcard view of Mr. & Mrs. Steve Siudzinski, owners of Steve’s Cheese, in front of a 34,591 pound block of cheddar cheese draped with prize winning ribbons that the company made. This famous cheese was on display at the New York World’s Fair. (Photo: Wisconsin Historical Images)

Made from the 20th to the 22nd of January 1964, the 34,591 pound (15,690 kg) block measured 14.5 ft (4.35 m) long, 6.5 ft (1.95 m) wide and 6 ft (1.80 m) high! It also took 183 tonnes of milk to make which is the equivalent to a day’s output by a heard of over 16,000 cows.

Not content with a simple display at the fair, the massive cheese went on tour on a special tractor-trailer dubbed the “Cheesemobile” between the two seasons of the fair. The vehicle also contained a display about dairy. The cheddar returned to New York in April 1965.

The tractor-trailer used to transport and display the world’s largest cheese at the 1964 World’s Fair held in New York. The 34,591 pound cheddar was made in Denmark, Wisconsin by Steve Siudzinski. It occupied only a portion of the trailer, with a general dairy exhibit in the rear. The trailer was donated by Highway Trailer of Edgerton.The cheese, following its two year stint at the World’s Fair, was purchased by the Borden Company. (Photo: Wisconsin Historical Images)

Most people could only gawk at the huge cheese. Samples were reserved for VIPs like Alice in Dairyland. After the fair, the cheese was purchased by the Borden Company, and devoured at the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association in Eau Claire in 1965. It was displayed until 1968 when it was cut into small pieces and sold. As late as 1978, the last two chunks were sold at a charity auction for £250 each.

Alice in Dairyland, and two employees of Steve’s Cheese, sample a piece of the World’s largest cheese. The gigantic piece of cheese was part of Wisconsin’s exhibit at the 1964 World’s Fair held in New York. (Photo: Wisconsin Historical Images)

2 comments:

  1. My father Bernie Kruse drove the Worlds Largest Cheese truck to New York Worlds Fair and around other states.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My grandfather provided some of the curd and was working with Steve at the time the cheese was created.

      Delete




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