1,000-pound cheese sculpture unveiled at State Fair

INDIANAPOLIS — A giant cheese statue created by food artist Nancy Baker and her team of helpers was unveiled at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 9.

Over 1,000 pounds of Indiana cheese from Pace Dairy in Crawfordsville was used to create it.

The sculpture is of Buttercup, the state dairy association’s mascot, making a slam dunk — a nod to this year’s basketball theme at the fair.

Cheese used in this year’s creation includes one 640-pound block of mild/medium cheddar, three 40-pound blocks of white cheddar and eight 40-pound blocks of yellow cheddar.

5 Fast Facts

1. Lead sculptor Nancy Baker is a high school art teacher from the Baltimore area. She has appeared on Food Network’s “Halloween Wars,” “Foodtastic” on Disney+, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and more.

2. After the fair, the cheese joins other biological matter from the fair destined for a north-central Indiana digester, where it will be churned and turned into energy.

3. There are 700 dairy farms in Indiana, 98% of which are family owned.

4. Indiana ranks second in ice cream production and 14th in milk production

5. It takes 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese.