In our go-go-go world, faster is often considered better. We hustle. We rush. We cut corners. We check things off our list so we can move on to the next thing on the list…ad infinitum.
Beemster Premium Dutch Cheese takes an entirely different approach. We do things the time-honored way, the exacting way, and the slower way. Which is to say the right way—even when it’s painstaking, and even when it takes a lot more time, money, and hard work than the alternative approach. We choose tradition over shortcuts.
We use sustainable and artisanal techniques to make our Premium Dutch Cheese. We stir our curds by hand rather than with a machine. To craft our Beemster wheels, we use brine that that traces back from the mother brine from our co-op’s founding in 1901. Our cheeses mature slowly and naturally on wooden planks in historic stone warehouses, where our team of cheese masters and cheesemakers carefully coax out the incredible flavors that make Beemster what it is.
Our commitment to honoring our people, our animals, and our land dates back to 1901, when the Beemster farmer-owned cooperative began. Local farmers in the polder joined forces and built small dairies where they turned their milk into cheese. They worked together to set quality and taste standards for the products they made and sold to the world so that they could be proud of what they created. Today, our member farmers continue this tradition, making decisions collectively. We oversee the entire process, from grass to cheese, so that Beemster is entirely traceable. We audit along the way to ensure we’re living up to our own high standards.
Our herds graze on lush, pesticide-free pastures in the pristine Beemster polder. They have ample fresh water and space to roam. They are given the freedom to graze freely in the picturesque Dutch meadows for as long as is safe and healthy for them. In the winter, they have roomy stables and plenty of fresh air and light. They even get massaged with special cow brushes and have special water beds!
We take obsessively good care of our animals; we consider them to be part of our family. They are raised in small herds and always receive humane treatment. They are never administered artificial hormones or needless antibiotics. Happy, healthy cows make sweet, creamy milk, which in turn makes for excellent cheese. You can taste the difference.
Sure, we’ve modernized over the last century. We’ve built a green dairy that conserves energy, recycles wastewater and renewed our dedication to sustainability. But at the core, we do what we’ve always done: offer living wages for our team, protect our land and our community, and make wonderful artisanal cheese.
Why do we bother with all of these exacting practices? Because it's the right way to do things. Because we're committed to making the best possible cheese. Because we promise to do right by our farmers, our cows, our planet, and our customers. Always. And because we’re planning on thriving for generations to come.
