
Many American Artisan cheese makers perfected their cheese making on farms in European countries such as France and Switzerland, whose age-old traditions have changed very little throughout the centuries. Since then growth, quality and demand have continued steadily. By the early 1980s, the US saw only a handful of Artisan cheese makers, but European cheese makers began to establish production branches in the US, which contributed to the Artisan Cheese movement. who began operations in Sonoma County, California in 1931 and Maytag Dairy Farms, established in 1941 in Iowa. The few exceptions were companies like Vella Cheese Co. By the 1970s, most cheese in the US was made by large corporations that mass-produced factory cheeses. While Artisan Cheese has been made for centuries in regions throughout Europe, it was until the 1970s that a resurgence of small scale cheese making occurred in the US. Artisan Cheese is made in just about every style of cheese but is usually produced in small to medium-scale production. The complex flavor and aromas and unique visual presentation of Artisan Cheeses help distinguish them from mass-produced cheese.

Particular attention is paid to the age-old traditions of the cheese maker, and the use of mechanization is avoided as much as possible during the production of the cheese. Artisan Cheese is a specialty cheese that is produced primarily by hand in small batches.
