Liederkranz an American cheese developed at the end of the 19th century by Emil Frey, a dairyman of Swiss origin working in New York State. Confronted by a strong demand for the German cheese Schlosskäse, which almost always spoiled while being shipped across the Atlantic, he spent some years experimenting and finally produced a cheese which was similar but better. The Liederkranz singing club in New York, whose members had been prominent in stimulating the invention, received packages of the new cheese as a gift and the name of the club, which means ‘garland of song’, was bestowed on the cheese. It has since gained wide popularity throughout the USA. The centre of production was long ago moved to Van Wert, Ohio, in more productive dairy-farming country.
