I Love Cheese

I love cheese!  It's one of the people food's I get to snack on every now and then here at The Craftsman B&B.  I am not allowed in the kitchen, so Mike built a gate that separates the kitchen from the pantry.  When there is cheese out, I know it.  I lay in front of the gate and hope a piece is sliced just for me.  Mike and Laura like cheese too.  Laura prefers cheese to chocolate.  I know, some of you can't believe it, but it's true.  I sure am glad I live in Tillamook County, home of the best cheese in the country.  Don't believe me, our guests seem to think so.

One of the family traditions in Oregon is to take the kids to the Tillamook Cheese Creamery and Visitors Center.  School buses from camps and day trips to the Oregon Coast stop for the tour.  So all these kids grow up and want to return.  They take the tour and get an ice cream cone.  It's a good spot for lunch as well.  When Mike and Laura were working on the house, there was a lot of demolition and trips to the County transfer station.  They would reward their careful loading of the truck and dump of the junk with lunch at the Farmhouse Cafe inside the Creamery.  Try the Tillamooker, Mike's favorite with Tater Tots.  My friend Jackson, likes the Pacific, a grilled cheese with shrimp.  Mike also gets 2 large chocolate milks and skips the ice cream cone for dessert.

The self guided tour takes you through a view area's that show videos of life at the dairy and milking machines used to get all the milk, the best part is the name of one machine: BouMatic.  Mike loves made up words in marketing and advertising.  So after that, it's upstairs to overlook the packaging line on one side and the cheese making on another.  Back down stairs through the tasting area, try the squeaky cheese!  As all factory tours, it ends in the company store.  Buy some black label cheddar, Mike's cousin Brad from San Diego was so happy to get a loaf when he came to help paint for a weekend.  I like it all.

So the best part is how the Creamery works.  It is a  farmer-owned cooperative that was formed back in 1909. It grew out of the desire on the part of a handful of farmers to ensure that the cheese produced in the area was of the absolute highest quality.  Now the Tillamook County Creamery Association has expanded to approximately 130 dairy families.  It is the largest employer in Tillamook County.  Most people work at the Creamery or on the dairy farms. Profits from the cooperative go back to the farmer-owner to help keep their dairies economically sustainable.

So the dairy farmer needs land and cows.  They work on preserving the land and keeping healthy cows.  They also need people to process the milk and do a lot for the community.  We like looking at all the cows when we drive around.

OK, now for some "cow tips."  No, cow tipping is not a good thing to try, now matter what the beer gods may have whispered in you ear. 

#1 The line at the ice cream counter can get long, if you go upstairs, like you are going on the tour, they sometimes open an additional ice cream scooping area.

#2 Cheese need to be refrigerated, if you don't have a way of keeping to cool, don't buy more that you can eat in a day.

#3 If you are going to have lunch, they have menus at the counter, grab one while you wait in line and have someone decide what they are going to get and have them look for a table.  Turnover is good, you will find a table before you get your food.

#4 Dessert?  The slowest eater has to decide on the ice cream and hold the table while others stand in line.  Don't forget tip #1.