Beemster Heritage
Indepth stories
World record Cheese 2002
World record cheese 2002
Saturday April 27, free party in Alkmaar," are what papers and billboards throughout Holland had shown for weeks, early in 2002. No one knew exactly what to expect, but when the most renowned cheese maker in Holland sponsors a special Saturday event located in the most famous cheese market in the world it is an event no Dutch person wants to miss.
Usually on a Saturday morning one can hear the sounds of nature throughout Alkmaar long after the sunrise as residents quietly wake up and enjoy the quiet weekend morning. This Saturday all that could be heard was the footsteps over the stone roads and the gossip of what was going to happen.
As the steam lifted from the canals leading to Alkmaar the crowd of thousands grew completely silent. Everyone could hear the echo of the click and clack of the horse hooves on the stone pavers. As the carriage neared the square people started to yell, "here comes the Beemster carriage." In the modern era hundreds of wheels of cheese are brought to Alkmaar for the cheese market in a truck from the factory, but not that Saturday. The Beemster carriage was used to carry only a single object.
As the carriage approached the customs house, the official weight registry for all cheeses entering into the retail marketplace since 1568, the crowd became quiet. The head of the cheese guild, dressed in his completely white uniform with colorful ribbon on his white hat, made the announcement that everyone had waited to hear.
The wheel was uncovered with much applause and carried to the weight house. Here, Mr. Salman the official customs notary announced the official weight of the single cheese at 567 Kilograms (1,251 lbs). Representatives from the Guinness Book of World records had come to observed and announced that it was in fact now the largest cheese in the entire world.
"Today Beemsterkaas would like to present the city of Alkmaar and The Netherlands the largest cheese in the world."