Pearl Valley Cheese is located in the rolling hills of Ohio Amish Country. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

Why does my family love Pearl Valley Cheese?

Whenever we go to Amish Country, we usually bring along a cooler and make our first stop at Pearl Valley Cheese in the rolling hills of farmland along SR 93 in Fresno, Ohio.

The family-owned cheese manufacturer is renowned for their award-winning Swiss cheese, which they have been perfecting since 1928. In additional to the traditional Swiss, they offer Colby, Marble and Cheddar cheeses and more than 25 other varieties. My personal favorites are the Lacey Baby Swiss and Emmentaler Old World Swiss.

One of the clues to the ultra-quality of Pearl Valley Cheese is the fact that milk tanker trucks are often parked at their unloading and manufacturing facility located just a hundred feet away from their retail store. That means local milk is being used to create cheese products that are sold at the same place. You can’t get any fresher than that.

Another big factor is the genuine warmth and friendliness of the staff at Pearl Valley. Customers at the retail store are always greeted with friendly smiles, free samples and graciousness.

Pearl Valley’s history goes back nearly 100 years. Ernest Stalder, a Swiss immigrant to Ohio, purchased the Pearl Cheese Company in 1928. The property consisted of a small building where a single 200-pound wheel of cheese was made daily in a copper kettle. He also purchased the neighboring house for a total of $700. This was the humble beginning of Pearl Valley Cheese.

Pearl Valley Cheese has maintained its Swiss traditions as well as continually modernizing and expanding its facilities since then. By 2022, Pearl Valley Cheese attained annual production of 10 million pounds of cheese.

The business has earned more than 30 awards for their cheese since 1989. Awards include the 2024 World Cheese Contest Gold Medal and Ohio State Fair Grand Champion in 2024 and 2023, all for their Swiss cheese. Pearl Valley also won Ohio State Fair awards in 2024 for their Lacey Baby Swiss, Marble, Salsa Jack and Chipotle cheeses.

For a closeup look at the cheese-making process, you can get a free tour of Pearl Valley Cheese’s factory at 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays from March through December.

So why do we love Pearl Valley Cheese? I guess you could say that first, it’s the people. And it’s made right here in Ohio. But yeah, it’s really, really great cheese.

Pearl Valley Cheese is located at 54760 Township Road 90, Fresno (just off SR 93), (740) 545-6002. (You can also find their cheese at many grocery stores and markets, but it’s fun to make the trip to their retail store.)

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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