Organic Commitment Yields Texas Green Cheese
By ASHANTI BLAIZE
Updated 12:34 PM CST, Thu, Nov 19, 2009
A novel idea and a love for dairy farms created a green process for cheese making right here in North Texas. The Veldhuizen dairy has been making raw milk cheese for nearly 7 years with all natural products.
The farm lies on a stretch of land in the heart of Dublin, TX, where cows are allowed to roam free.
"We feed [them] a very low grain diet and really high foliage because that's what cows are made to be consuming," said Stuart Veldhuizen, owner of Veldhuizen Dairy.
In a tiny building in the center of the property, Veldhuizen works each day. Almost seven years ago, he and his wife decided to try something new with the couple dozen cows they owned.
"She says 'you know, raw milk cheeses are the up and coming thing,'" said Veldhuizen. "And if we go organic it would be even better yet."
Making cheese is now a labor of love for the Veldhuizens. Everything that goes into the 14 different types of cheeses made at their dairy is 100 percent organic.
"In January, this was liquid and now its consumable," said Veldhuizen. "And we didn't add any preservatives and chemicals and stuff to make this stuff all happen."
Its straight from the cow, molded by Veldhuizen's hands, aged in a 52 degree cave and then sent to restaurants and cheese shops in the Dallas area and beyond. Scardello Artisan Cheese Shop in Uptown is one of those places.
"We named a sandwich after Stuart," said Rich Rogers, owner of Scardello Artisan Cheese. "Its Stuart's cheddar press. Its some red neck cheddar with some curried pickled green tomatoes."
"Sometimes we get the privilege of going there and seeing how our cheese is used and meet the people that are consuming it and its like wow this is cool," said Veldhuizen.
A green idea for the Veldhuizens, that's now very rewarding.
"They can see what we're doing. That the cows are on green grass. They can watch us make cheese and if they're here at the right time they can help us milk," said Veldhuizen.
For more information about raw milk cheese you can go to Veldhuizen Dairy's website, www.veldhuizencheese.com
As part of Green Week for every user who pledges to buy local this week, NBC Universal will donate $1 to the FEED foundation an organization dedicated to improving the global food system through good nutrition and education for children. CLICK HERE to find out how to make a pledge.
First Published: Nov 18, 2009 9:51 AM CST
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