Een kaasboer in de buurt
Leuk nieuws in de krant van vandaag, een Nederlander is samen met iemand een kaasproductie begonnen hier vlak in de buurt.
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060131/NEWS01/601310316/1002
Finger Lakes Farmstead opens cheesery
By DARISE JEAN-BAPTISTE Journal Staff
MECKLENBURG - Two weeks ago, when Nancy Taber Richards and business partner Jan Beuzekom sliced the first cheese wheel produced at their Mecklenburg production facility — or cheesery as Richards called it — they said they didn't know how it would look inside.
Since then, the small-scale cheese makers have produced close to 100 artisanal cheese wheels at the facility for their newly formed Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese on Bergen Road. Yet, after each wheel has aged for a typical 60 days, the finished product still holds an element of surprise. Tentatively named for its county of origin, “Schuyler,” the Gouda-style Boerenkaasor Dutch farmstead cheese that Richards and Beuzekom created, revealed an array of attractive holes after it was sliced on Monday.
“I think the flavor is somewhere between a cheddar and Swiss,” Richards said. Though Richards said the description of a cheese's taste is subjective, she and Beuzekom hope to achieve consistent quality with all their cheeses. Richards said the company has the advantage of closely observing the quality of its cheeses because the milk used to make them is directly taken from Taber Hill Farms, located about half a mile from the cheesery and owned and operated by Richards' family.
After about five years of planning and clearing most of its major hurdles, Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Company finally began production this month. With aspirations of bolstering the local cheese market, Richards said she also hopes to add value to the farm's dairy commodity.
“When we take it one extra step and convert it to cheese, then we can better control the price that we charge for it,” Richards said.
For now, determining the price the company will eventually charge potential retail and wholesale customers is secondary to other priorities. Beuzekom, a Netherlands native with 20 years experience making cheese in Europe, is getting better acquainted with the facility. Richards, who said her interest in cheese making was piqued after spending a year in Switzerland and eating good cheese, is feeling out the market and working on the company's marketing and advertising strategies.
The company's success also affects Richards's family, as the family farm provides the estimated 260 gallons of raw milk used to make every 24 cheese wheels or one batch. Richards said her family responded cautiously to the idea of a relatively risky investment with someone outside the family, Richards said.
“It was a new idea to all of us, especially to them,” she said.
But Richards described the opportunity to work with Beuzekom as a miracle, as it came within days of her pondering the cheesemaking endeavor. Shortly after Beuzekom attended the American Cheese Society conference at Cornell University in 1999, she responded to an advertisement he put in an agricultural magazine for professional U.S. cheesemakers.
“It's a miracle I saw it,” she said.
Inside the production room of the cheesery, the air is humid as Beuzekom works diligently at monitoring temperatures for the cheese mixture as well as the length of time the ingredients do its part in making the cheese perfect. Having had experience with other small-scale operations, Beuzekom's experience has been an advantage to the company.
“You're shooting for a certain goal, and each time you want to make it a hit,” he said of the cheese.
Like the Finger Lakes wineries, Richards said she hopes her business as well as other local small-scale dairy operations can achieve the kind of success the wineries have had in offering a quality niche product. She noted the complementary affect wine has with cheese as potential for business collaboration.
Learning about artisanal cheeses, or cheeses that have unique characteristics, has been rewarding for Richards, she said. Her challenge now is to learn to master the hands-on aspect of cheese making, as Beuzekom has, she said.
“Hopefully in 60 days, Schuyler will have its own cheese,” Beuzekom said.
Ik ben heel benieuwd hoe de kaas zal smaken, misschien kunnen vader en moeder's koffer's 10 kilo lichter zijn als ze weer komen...
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060131/NEWS01/601310316/1002
Finger Lakes Farmstead opens cheesery
By DARISE JEAN-BAPTISTE Journal Staff
MECKLENBURG - Two weeks ago, when Nancy Taber Richards and business partner Jan Beuzekom sliced the first cheese wheel produced at their Mecklenburg production facility — or cheesery as Richards called it — they said they didn't know how it would look inside.
Since then, the small-scale cheese makers have produced close to 100 artisanal cheese wheels at the facility for their newly formed Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese on Bergen Road. Yet, after each wheel has aged for a typical 60 days, the finished product still holds an element of surprise. Tentatively named for its county of origin, “Schuyler,” the Gouda-style Boerenkaasor Dutch farmstead cheese that Richards and Beuzekom created, revealed an array of attractive holes after it was sliced on Monday.
“I think the flavor is somewhere between a cheddar and Swiss,” Richards said. Though Richards said the description of a cheese's taste is subjective, she and Beuzekom hope to achieve consistent quality with all their cheeses. Richards said the company has the advantage of closely observing the quality of its cheeses because the milk used to make them is directly taken from Taber Hill Farms, located about half a mile from the cheesery and owned and operated by Richards' family.
After about five years of planning and clearing most of its major hurdles, Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Company finally began production this month. With aspirations of bolstering the local cheese market, Richards said she also hopes to add value to the farm's dairy commodity.
“When we take it one extra step and convert it to cheese, then we can better control the price that we charge for it,” Richards said.
For now, determining the price the company will eventually charge potential retail and wholesale customers is secondary to other priorities. Beuzekom, a Netherlands native with 20 years experience making cheese in Europe, is getting better acquainted with the facility. Richards, who said her interest in cheese making was piqued after spending a year in Switzerland and eating good cheese, is feeling out the market and working on the company's marketing and advertising strategies.
The company's success also affects Richards's family, as the family farm provides the estimated 260 gallons of raw milk used to make every 24 cheese wheels or one batch. Richards said her family responded cautiously to the idea of a relatively risky investment with someone outside the family, Richards said.
“It was a new idea to all of us, especially to them,” she said.
But Richards described the opportunity to work with Beuzekom as a miracle, as it came within days of her pondering the cheesemaking endeavor. Shortly after Beuzekom attended the American Cheese Society conference at Cornell University in 1999, she responded to an advertisement he put in an agricultural magazine for professional U.S. cheesemakers.
“It's a miracle I saw it,” she said.
Inside the production room of the cheesery, the air is humid as Beuzekom works diligently at monitoring temperatures for the cheese mixture as well as the length of time the ingredients do its part in making the cheese perfect. Having had experience with other small-scale operations, Beuzekom's experience has been an advantage to the company.
“You're shooting for a certain goal, and each time you want to make it a hit,” he said of the cheese.
Like the Finger Lakes wineries, Richards said she hopes her business as well as other local small-scale dairy operations can achieve the kind of success the wineries have had in offering a quality niche product. She noted the complementary affect wine has with cheese as potential for business collaboration.
Learning about artisanal cheeses, or cheeses that have unique characteristics, has been rewarding for Richards, she said. Her challenge now is to learn to master the hands-on aspect of cheese making, as Beuzekom has, she said.
“Hopefully in 60 days, Schuyler will have its own cheese,” Beuzekom said.
Ik ben heel benieuwd hoe de kaas zal smaken, misschien kunnen vader en moeder's koffer's 10 kilo lichter zijn als ze weer komen...
posted by Annemiek | 9:12 p.m.
6 Comments:
Misschien kan je eens solliciteren naar een (vrijwilligers)baantje als proever? ;-))
Hey, dat is een heel goed idee :-) Ik ben echt een grote kaaseter.
Hmm, heerlijk, ambachtelijke kaas! Er staat hier op ons Farmer's Marktje ook altijd een kaasboer, die zelf Goudse kaas maakt, errug lekker!
Dat belooft wat!!!
Ben benieuwd hoe je het t.z.t vindt smaken.....
Groetjes Petra
Yammie yammie kaas!!! Tegen die tijd dat wij in de VS zitten moeten we ook opzoek naar echte kaas. Onze eigen kaasboer in Ermelo vertelde dat ze ook een aantal klanten in de buitenland hebben waarnaar de kaas opsturen.
Maar nog geen vaste klanten in Amerika, ik heb ook geen idee of je dat zo naar Amerika kan verzenden met alle regels die er zijn?
Harde kaas mag je vacuum verpakt meenemen, ik weet niet hoe het zit met opsturen. Mijn ouders hebben het wel eens geprobeerd, maar het was te lang onderweg geweest, en was beschimmeld.
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