New Factory to Thorp Area Brings

Holland's Family Cheese

The Thorp Courier (Thorp, WI)
January 31, 2007 -- Front Page
Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon
 

When we heard about a new cheese factory called Holland’s Family Cheese in Thorp we had to know more about it. I met Marieke and Rolf Penterman at their farm on Gorman Avenue and they invited me in to visit. Rolf made some delicious coffee from Holland and we ate slices of cheese with bread. I smiled to myself as I saw the cow depicted on my coffee mug. On the front of the mug a cow is smiling hello while the other end wags a good bye on the back. Seated to my left was the youngest Penterman. He was playing with a rattle and was such a quiet content little boy.

“Oh, he’s good right now,” Marieke said with a knowing look.

I assumed not all mornings went as smoothly as this one. As we were visiting, two little girls came chattering into the room wearing dress up clothes and a large assortment of hair bands in their locks. The Pentermans have twin girls, Luna and Joyce or Joy for short. The twins are three years old and were excitedly playing in their frilly gowns. Marieke and I talked as Rolf got the girls ready to go to Ester Zimmerman’s, a neighbor woman who cares for the children. Marieke told me she is a very kind woman and the children just love her.

“The Neighbors are wonderful here,” she exclaimed.

As she prepared snacks for the children to take, we chatted about life in Holland.

“It is very sad,” Marieke said, “In Holland farmers are treated poorly, much like criminals. Here we are welcomed and farmers are treated much better in America.”

It is hard to understand that she is referring to the same America in which we often see farmers and the country lifestyle so misunderstood. In Holland, farmers are simultaneously depended on for their products, while scorned for the land and resources they use. This attitude is somewhat understandable when you consider that over four Holland’s would fit inside the state of Wisconsin. Our state population would need to increase nine fold to reach that of Holland’s. An increase such as this would place Thorp’s population at 13,824, just slightly above the current population of Chippewa Falls.

Marieke and I walked across the yard to the cheese factory for my tour. I could see immediately that this was going to be a treat. The store in the front of the factory was filled with wooden shoes, chocolates, coffees from Holland and key chains with little wooden shoes attached. A little whimsy is provided as you spot a rack of slippers shaped like wooden shoes standing in the corner.

Angelica Gonzalez works for Marieke, giving out samples, ringing up purchases and generally doing whatever needs to be done. Angelica and Marieke offered me samples of the delicious Gouda and I found it difficult to pick a favorite. Marieke offers 14 different varieties of Gouda. Some have more common ingredients such as black pepper, Italian herb, garlic, garden herb and mustard. However alongside the more familiar flavors are more unique ones such as black and mélange mustard, cumin (it is wonderful), and stinging nettle, which has an unfamiliar texture and a pleasing flavor. The most popular of Marieke’s Gouda is the fenugreek. She teasingly makes me wait to taste this one last. The sweet smell of maple and the creamy, nutty flavor are wonderful. Soon with the help of Nolechek Meats, Marieke will have smoked Gouda. After it is allowed to age, it will be available, that she assures me.

Holland’s Family Cheese was an idea Marieke came up with back in 2004. She made a couple of trips back to Holland to learn the techniques of two cheese makers.

The first women she stayed with milked 10 cows and people were put on a waiting list to get her cheese. At the age of 65, she had decided she wanted to make cheese and now it was in huge demand.

Her next trip to Holland brought Marieke to a dairy that milked 200 cows. They not only created cheese, but also ice cream, yogurt, custard and butter. It was interesting for Marieke to compare the two different sized operations. She took what she learned from her Holland experience and added her own ideas to come up with her cheese recipe.

Obtaining a cheese makers license can be a complicated and frustrating process. Marieke completed 240 hours of apprenticeship as well as several courses in sanitation and other areas of cheese making.

The Pentermans have used some very innovative ideas to conserve time and energy. A special pipeline brings the milk from the dairy directly to the factory. This means the already warm milk demands less energy to heat up to the required temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

After the cheese goes through multiple processes it is pressed into molds using a press the Pentermans ordered from Holland. At this point, the Gouda has the appearance of cottage cheese.