The cheesemakers of Melrose Park have just rolled out a big win. Caputo Cheese snagged a gold medal for their fresh mozzarella at the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest, slicing through the competition to come out on top. The victory is a testament to the company's tradition of cheese-making, which is tied in a knot.

This isn't your grocery store cheese. Caputo's nodini, which is Italian for "small knots," had to impress the discerning palates of white-coated judges who tasted and scrutinized over 3,300 cheeses from around the globe in Madison, Wisconsin earlier this month. Their fresh mozzarella overcame stiff competition from major players, including other renowned U.S. brands and international ones hailing from Canada to Japan. Natale Caputo, president of Caputo Cheese, shared in a statement obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, "We studied the process of making this product. We’ve more or less stuck to our traditions of the past 30 years to continue to make a consistent and very rich and creamy product."

But the World Championship Cheese Contest isn't just about nabbing the top spot. With winners named in more than 100 cheese categories, it’s a dairy extravaganza where the cream truly rises to the top. According to the QSR Magazine, Caputo's nodini also took ‘Best Of Class’ in a category jam-packed with some of the biggest names in the biz.

So, what's the secret behind these mozzarella masterpieces? It's all in the stretch and twist—Caputo's fresh mozzarella is hand-tied into little knots, which not only gives it a unique shape but also enhances its taste and texture. It's a labor of love that turns milk into an award-winning star of salads, pizzas, and paninis alike. The nodini are "delicate in texture and rich and creamy in flavor," Natale Caputo told QSR Magazine, heading a company that cranks out about 120,000 pounds of this creamy white goodness every week.

For cheese lovers wanting to get their hands on this gold medalist, you can head to Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets across locations like Naperville and Mt. Prospect. The cheese is also distributed both domestically and internationally, reaching far-flung palates as distant as South Korea and Costa Rica. In the cutthroat world of cheesemaking, Caputo's keeping it knotty and nice has just won them top honors.