Cheeses that pleases in Davis

DAVIS – When Megann Pieper’s relatives get together for a family photo, you can bet they say “Cheeeeese!”

Growing up in a cheesemaking family, Pieper has been around cheese for a long time, and she’s tried a lot of them: sliced, melted, solo and on all sorts of dishes, from lasagna with Muenster to a broccoli and rice casserole with cheddar.

With all that taste-testing and family history under her belt, Pieper knows her cheeses, especially the 50 or so varieties she sells at her shop, Megz Country Cheese in Davis. She’s well versed in the tastes and textures of the dairy delight, and she’s more than happy to share her expertise with customers. Looking for the right cheese to pair with wine? Looking for a cheese with flavor notes that’ll make your dish sing? Meg can help.

The shop sells cheeses — sliced, trays, bricks — all of which come from area cheesemakers such as Decatur Dairy in Brodhead, Wisconsin, and Maple Leaf Cheese in Juda, Wisconsin, both located within 10 miles from Megz, and, of course, her family’s factory in town, Wenger’s Springbrook Cheese.

Cheese fans will find a lot to cheer about at Megz. Though the store specializes in the standard staples — such as cheddar, Swiss, Muenster, brick, and colby jack — Pieper also carries other varieties and special blends, such as blueberry and raspberry white cheddars.

“We try to keep it simple and not go too wild with things,” Pieper said. “Most people just want something simple and not too exotic. Cheddar, Swiss, Muenster, Cojack, brick, they’re just looking for the basics for sandwiches or cheese trays for the parties. In my opinion, less is more, because if you have too much variety, you’re going to sit on it for a long time.”

You don’t have to be a cheese-loving turophile to enjoy all the varieties Megz offers. Even if your knowledge of cheese doesn’t go much beyond Kraft and Velveeta, Pieper is happy to help — she’s like the Pied Pieper of Cheeses, leading customers on a journey through the world of cheese.

Never heard of butterkase or gruyere? Pieper can tell you about them. Gruyere, for example, is a nutty-like cheese similar to Swiss; its taste doesn’t have as much of a bite, but it’s hard like a Swiss, and it’s a good choice for shredding, to use on a casserole or macaroni and cheese, Pieper said.

“Meeting new people and our returning customers, visiting with them, is really what makes coming to work easy,” Pieper said. “More than half of my job is having conversations with people, making them feel seen and welcomed and appreciated. I’m a talker, and that’s easy for me. The people in the area are really great supporters, and I wouldn’t be here this long if people didn’t continue to return.”

The building itself is a conversation piece, also: It originally was a Great Depression-era Conoco gas station, and Pieper recently had one of its original pumps restored and put back where it used to be.

Pieper opened the shop in November 2013 and has kept an eye on what cheeses are popular with customers and those that don’t move. She started to carry a crossover blend, Colby Swiss – a cross between lace Swiss and Colby longhorn – and it has become a popular seller.

“It looks like Cojack because of the marble color, but has a lace to it,” Pieper said. “We started selling it five years ago, and people like it because it’s not super strong, like Swiss, because it has that Colby in it that offsets the bitey-ness of Swiss. It’s good for grilled cheese.”

Another variety good for the grill is the family’s Springbrook’s Grilling Cheese: “It’s a high-temp, high-moisture cheese,” Pieper said. “You can put it on the grill or put it in a pan and sear it so that it can be crusted on both sides, then you can cut it up and eat it as an appetizer or as cheese curds. The high moisture prevents the cheese from oozing out all over the place, so it holds a shape.”

If you prefer shredded cheese, you’ll have to get your own grater. Megz doesn’t sell it; Pieper encourages customers to shred blocks instead.

“One thing I always try to tell people that it’s better to shred it yourself,” Pieper said. “It’s going to melt better, it’s going to taste better, and it’s not hard. It doesn’t take much time to do, you can do it when your meat is cooking or while something else in your kitchen is going. I have people who come and buy two or three pounds at a time, and go shred it and freeze it so that it’s already ready.”

Cheese isn’t all Pieper sells: Customers can also pick from a variety of deli meats — turkey, ham, roast beef, dried beef, pastrami, and hard salami — and they can get deli sandwiches, too, on a variety of breads: white, wheat, oatmeal, marble rye, croissant or hoagie. Cheese and meat trays are another popular seller, and Pieper and her staff put a lot of them together during the holidays. The shop also sells potato salad, soups and chili. Customers can order takeout or dine in.

Ice cream is also available, with 12 rotating flavors from Cedar Crest Ice Cream of Cedarburg, Wisconsin (north of Milwaukee). You can mix it up a bit, too, with root beer floats, sundaes and mixer flurries. Visiting on your birthday? Have a scoop on the house.

A big supporter of both local and small businesses, Pieper also sells local mustards, jams, yogurts, potato chips, bison snack sticks and elderberry syrup.

With so many regional goods at the shop, a visit to Megz brings customers closer to food that’s produced throughout northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

“We pride ourselves in having lots of local things, and we try to have everything as local as we can get it,” Pieper said.

Megz Country Cheese, 42 state Route 75 in Davis, is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Hours change during the fall and winter. Find it on Facebook or call 815-865-5516 to place custom orders or for more information.