8x Cheese from the North

The North of our country is rather underrated, because there is an abundance of delicious things to be found there. Where exactly you can find all of that is revealed in Jacques Hermus’s new book: Het Heerlijke Noorden. An indispensable culinary guide to Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. Travel, eat, drink and taste your way through the northern provinces of our country.

Het Heerlijke Noorden comes to us in all sorts of forms, but one of the most delicious forms is surely cheese. And although there are no cows wandering across Amsterdam’s Dam Square, there are plenty in the green landscapes of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. And sheep. And goats. The people of the North turn their milk into cheese, which you can simply buy on the Dam.

Friesland

Doetie’s goat cheese, Jubbega

At Doetie’s in Jubbega, large-scale production is nowhere to be found. Along the Schoterlandseweg, a modest ‘goat cheese’ sign stands by the road, and with around ten goats, you could hardly expect anything else. Everything is still somewhat in the building phase, but don’t be mistaken about the end product. Doetie’s organic cheeses can be found at top Frisian restaurants and far beyond. She offers three varieties. Lytse Wite is a soft, pyramid-shaped, white-mould cheese weighing 100 grams. Swarte Toer has the same shape, but is rolled in ash. If the soft cheeses are already delicious enough to kiss, the ‘hard’ goat cheese is truly an outrageously tasty cheese. Schoterlandseweg 78, 8411 ZH Jubbega

De Gelder, Tijnje

The best holey cheese in the world, culinary journalist Wouter Klootwijk once called it: Tynjetaler. The Swiss, with their Emmentaler, would heartily disagree, but Tynjetaler – with a Frisian wink towards the holey-cheese country in the mountains – is a lovely cheese. Creamy, slightly sweet, with a mildly spicy finish. The cheesemakers at De Gelder farm, the Vogel-Van Emst family, know what they are doing. Their young matured holey cheese has once been named the Best Cheese in the Netherlands. Also delicious with drinks or in fondue. Heawei 42, 8406 AW Tijnje

De Nylander, Workum

Organic cheese farm De Nylander in Workum, on the shores of the IJsselmeer, produces distinctive cheeses. They are made from the milk of the Bokma family’s own Jersey cows. This milk is fattier, making the cheeses creamier and, when aged, less crumbly. Not that the cheeses have much time to mature: they make their way to the finest shops in the Netherlands and far beyond. Their nail cheese is served on the cheese boards of French three-star restaurants, and we have even encountered Reade Nylander in a New York deli. You can simply buy it in Workum, though. Lange Leane 10, 8711 HK Workum

Groningen

Kaasmakerij Oldambt, Blijham

The tastiest Boeren Goudse cheese, a protected designation of origin product, comes from Groningen. From Blijham, to be precise, where Sjanita and Adri de Vos make the finest cheeses, which have been awarded the title of the Netherlands’ best cheese several times. They are originally from the Gouda region, admittedly, but still. They also make Groninger nail cheese, which can easily compete with the Frisian variety, as well as various herb cheeses. It is a fair drive towards the German border, but worth the detour, as Michelin might say. Tweekarspelenweg 18, 9697 XZ Blijham

Orobianco, Grootegast/Opende

Mozzarella from Groningen: yes, go ahead and laugh. But at Orobianco – ‘the white gold’ – in Grootegast, they really do make fresh mozzarella from buffalo milk that bursts open in your mouth and gives you a heavenly feeling. Martijn Veenstra converted the barn of his father’s former cattle farm into a cheese dairy. He hired Italian cheesemaker Pietro di Simone to teach him the finer points of the trade. Ricotta and scamorza, a dried mozzarella with a rind, are also made in the barn. Available at restaurants and delicatessens. Peebos 4, 9865 TH Opende

Organic Goat Cheese Dairy De Oude Streek, Zevenhuizen

Hanneke Kuppen has been making the most distinctive raw-milk goat cheeses on her goat farm since 1988. She does so organically and wholeheartedly. Her Machedoux, a creamy white-mould cheese with mildly sour notes, is served at top restaurants and the finest cheese shops. Apparently, Queen Máxima is a fan. Machemat (a goat brie) and machetin, a kind of crottin, are just two more of these wonderful little cheeses. Production is small, demand is high. But don’t expect Hanneke to make a commercial U-turn. She loves her goats, her work and her cheese. On a small scale. Oudestreek 37, 9354 AD Zevenhuizen

Drenthe

De Kruidenwei, Nooitgedacht

Blue cheese from Drenthe goats, absolutely. The Lady Blue from organic cheese dairy De Kruidenwei in Nooitgedacht has already been named the tastiest cheese in the Netherlands, while the Little Blue Star has also won numerous prizes. When the doorbell of the farm shop rings, owner and cheesemaker Ayla Groenveld emerges from her ‘cave’: the maturing room where her blue cheeses are left to ripen. Lady Blue is a two-month-old cheese; soft yet spicy. Man’s Blue is an overripe Lady Blue, one that is a year old. Veldweg 8, Nooitgedacht

Kaaslust, Veenhuizen

At Kaaslust, they make cheese—what else could it be? Some with beer from the adjacent Maallust brewery, others with herbs or simply pure. Master cheesemaker Jan Craens has devoted himself entirely to developing the cheese dairy in Veenhuizen. There, the former dairy factory, dating from 1903, was fully restored in 2010 and fitted out as an artisanal cheese dairy. The yellowest cheeses are made from the rich milk of Jersey cows. Other cheeses in the range include sheep’s and goat’s cheeses matured in an old peat barn, and a Drenthe blue cheese made from cow’s milk. Hoofdweg 138, 9341 BL Veenhuizen