The Beemster Story
Premium Gourmet Dutch Cheese
From 20 feet below sea level
Beemster cheese come from the quiet, canal lined pastures of North Holland. This remarkable landscape, located 20ft below sea level, was reclaimed from the sea in the year 1612. Using a master plan, extensive manual labor, dykes and 55 windmills this area now know as the ‘Beemster’ polder, was reclaimed from the sea and converted into lush pastures. The special blue sea clay of the Beemster polder, with its mineral rich composition, makes the grasses a special quality. This factor is also referred to as ‘terroir’ . It allows for the cows to give a unique milk. This milk, with a sweeter and softer milk fat, gives the cheeses made in this area an unmistakable taste and creaminess which has led to a renowned reputation.
Once the Beemster polder was drained it soon became inhabited by farmers hoping to plant crops. When the farmers began to till the soil they found that it was like nothing they had ever seen before. The sea clay, that had for thousands of years prior been the bottom of the lagoon, was blue in color. They found that the grasses thrived on this newly discovered soil and that the cows loved grazing on the lush grasses. It soon became known throughout The Netherlands that the best milk came from the Beemster Polder.
The farmers of the Beemster Polder are very much aware of the value of their pastures for which they care greatly. To this day no pesticides are used within the Beemster polder on any of the pastures.
In the early 19th century traders started to pay a premium for cheese coming from the Beemster Polder.
In 1901 the farmers in the polder decided to take the earnings from their milk and cheese and collectively build a dairy.
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