Ramsey County History – Fall 2003: “St. Paul Underground: The University Farm Experimental Cave and How St. Paul Became the Blue Cheese Capital of the World”

St. Paul Underground: The University Farm Experimental Cave and How St. Paul Became the Blue Cheese Capital of the World
Author: Greg A. Brick

Willes Combs, a professor of Dairy Industry at the University of Minnesota, was buying mushrooms at a West Side cave and saw that the humidity there was similar to the humidity in the caves in which France’s famous Roquefort cheese was ripened. He decided to see if Minnesota could also produce a similar cheese. With a 1933 federal grant, the project turned out to be a great success, producing 10,000 pounds of the product. It was hoped it would help relieve the state’s milk surplus. Combs suggested that St. Paul had enough cave space to fill the world’s need for Roquefort cheese. Things lagged, but World War II cut off the supply from France, and both Kraft and Land O’ Lakes rented out caves. After the war, the university’s research went in other directions, and the cave went empty. The author also describes his 2003 visit to the caves.
PDF of Brick article