Tour the Veldhuizen Cheese in Dublin, Texas.

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Who would have thought this Veldhuizen Cheese farm is located in Dublin, Texas? I mean, Texas is hot in the summertime. And it’s not rare that we can wear shorts and t-shirts during winter. 

First time I heard about Veldhuizen Cheese was from a short feature in the AAA Magazine Texas edition about a restaurant that uses ingredients from local resources. When I clicked the link to the restaurant website, it also had a link to Veldhuizen Cheese. From their website I learned about the cheese making tour and their location is not too far from where I live. Of course I have to make a visit!

A bit history of Veldhuizen Cheese Farm

After delivering milk from his farm to a co-op for years where his milk got mixed with others and labeled with someone else’s brand, Stuart Veldhuizen had had enough. Then his wife Connie came with an idea to approach dairy from a different angle: cheese. Long story short, Veldhuizen Cheese was born in 2000 in Dublin, Texas.

Starting from one variety of cheese, today they offer more than 20 varieties of artisan raw milk cheeses. They make three types of cheese from fresh pure sheep milk, and two varieties of blended milk (cow and sheep) cheese. Also they added honey, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, dark beer, and others to their cheeses to make them taste special.

All the milk comes from their own cows and sheeps that are grazing freely on their 180 pesticide free acres farm. Most of the cows are Jersey and Guernsey, with a few others mixed breeds. Their priority is to have a high quality of milk, rather than a high quantity of milk. As for the dairy sheeps, they have Awassi, Lacaune, and East Friesian.

Tour the Veldhuizen Cheese

For a cheese making tour, you need to sign up and pay online through the Veldhuizen Cheese website. Right now they offer a cheese making tour once a week on Thursday, starting at noon and runs for about an hour. However, tours are subject to cancelation if there is adverse weather. You better call them if the weather is looking questionable.

Cost of the tour is $6 for adults, $4 for children aged 6-12, and free for children under 6. Group tours are also available with rates starting at $4/person, by appointment only. There were 5 adults and 1 child the day I took the cheese making tour at the Veldhuizen Cheese.

Click here for the upcoming tours.

The cheese making tour starts with cheese tasting. Everyone gets a piece of cheese tasting sheet that has a list of cheeses and its ingredients and how long they’ve been aged. There’s a tasting note under every cheese where you can write down your opinion.

On the day of the tour, we got to taste 7 different cheeses. Two from mild selection: Dublin Karst and Redneck Cheddar; two from medium selection: Wooly Texas and Mixed Milk Gouda; one from sharp selection: Sharp Shooter; and two from flavored selection: Jalapeno Cheddar and Garlic Pepper Havarti. I like all of them but one. The seasonal Garlic Pepper Havarti was too garlicky for me. We also got to taste the cheese curd, but I think none of us liked it.

Once done with the cheese tasting, Connie Veldhuizen, the co-owner, came to meet us and started explaining the cheese making process to us. Just like at a couple of cheese farms I saw in the Amish Country Ohio, we can watch the cheesemakers working from behind a big window behind the store’s counter. Since Veldhuizen Cheese is a small farm, there were only two people working there.

Cheese making started with the milking process where the raw milk piped right into the vat and made into cheese. They have two tubs where they make the cheese. That day they were making cheddar cheese and it’s already in the curds process. 

From here Connie took us to the cheese cave built into the side of a hill. This is where they expertly aged the cheese, anywhere between two months and up to two years, and some beyond. Cheese loves high humidity and moderate temperatures, and since Texas is warm even in the ground, they have to put the AC to control the temperature in the cave.

Every week Veldhuizen Cheese makes over 60 wheels of cheese. Each wheel is coated and labeled, or washed by hand with a brine until a natural rind is formed. They do the wash twice a week for cheddar and three times a week for blue cheese. That’s also the time when they flip each cheese. Apparently cheese making is not an easy process.

Then we moved to another cave where they store other than cheddar cheeses. Blue cheeses are placed in a different room because they need mold in the aging process. We could only peek into the room where they aged the blue cheeses.

Next, Connie took us to see the sheeps and shared with us about life on the farm. Like I mentioned above, all the milk comes from their own cows and sheeps. They plant crops for the animals to graze on all year round. The pastures are filled with native grass, oats, millet, alfalfa, and barley according to season. 

Veldhuizen Cheese is a family farm. The Veldhuizen has two daughters and everyone is involved in the daily operation, together with their husbands. The Veldhuizen Sr. still insists on helping, even though he is in his early 90s. Today the bigger grandchildren started to help, too. It really is a family business.

At the end of the tour, we went back to the store. When we looked through the window, they were cutting the curd mats into smaller pieces. I didn’t wait until the next process, but I left after I bought some Dublin Karst and Jalapeno Cheddar.

Other things you need to know about Veldhuizen Cheese

– They offer Farm Tours every Saturday at 10.30 am and 1.30 pm. Prices are the same like the cheese making tour.

– Most of their customers are restaurants, hotels, specialty shops, and cheese shops.

– You can find three of their cheeses at the Central Market.

– They can ship your order, but due to the hot temperatures they have suspended shipping for the summer.

Veldhuizen Cheese Varieties

MILD SELECTION:

– Dublin Karst (aged 2-4 months)

  A Veldhuizen signature. Gravity pressed, semi-soft. Hints of buttery sweet cream, building to a sharper bite, while remaining mild overall.

– Classic Cheddar (aged 2-4 months)

  Moist and mild, smooth yet firm.

– Redneck Cheddar (aged 2-4 months)

  Cheddar curds bathed in dark beer. Creamy and mild. Flavors of malty sweetness and buttered toast. Mac n’ cheese.

– Gouda (aged 2-4 months)

  A traditional Dutch cheese with a beautiful, creamy texture. The flavor profiles in this cheese include honey, caramel, and butterscotch.

– Texas Star (aged 2-6 months)

  A natural rind signature cheese with notes of cheddar and swiss. The texture is smooth and buttery with an overall mellow finish.

– Paragon (aged 2-6 months)

  Paragon means model of excellence. It’s semi-hard with a unique, slightly tangy flavor.

MEDIUM SELECTION:

– Wooly Texas (aged 8-10 months)

  This Gruyere style of 100% sheep milk has juicy acidity with flavors of toasted cashews and    lingering notes of vanilla and butter. Made with a natural edible rind.

– Mixed Milk Gouda (aged 6-8 months)

  A blend of sheep and cow milk. Smooth, flavors of melted butter and fresh cream. Hints of nectar. Herbal finish.

– Shepherd’s Blend (aged 6-8 months)

  A blend of sheep and cow milk. Bright acidity, creamy, hints of sweet lemon.

– Texas Gold (aged 8-10 months)

  Aged twice as long as their Classic Cheddar to make a slightly sharper cheese while retaining its smooth texture and flavor.

– Sheep Cheddar (aged 5-8 months)

  Notes of fresh bread, toast, and melted butter. Smooth and creamy, firm texture with a slight granular crunch.

– Sheep Gouda (aged 12-18 months)

  Delicate texture. Flavors from sweet to savory, musky with notes of salty caramel.

SHARP SELECTION:

– Sharp Shooter (aged 12-15 months)

  Richly aged for over a year to bring out the sharpness you love, along with a firm, granular, crumbly texture.

– Double Barrel Cheddar (aged 2 years)

  Aged for over 2 years, this dark golden cheddar is sharp with an amazing richness.

– Triple Barrel Cheddar (aged 3+ years)

  This cheddar is very sharp, dry, crumbly, and crystalized. Can be grated over salads and into recipes.

– Parmesan (aged 2+ years)

  Aged over 2 years. Fruity, earthy, medium acidity. Great for grating and crumbling.

– Ol’ Redneck Cheddar (aged 18-24 months)

  Cheddar curds bathed in dark beer. Crumbly, tart tang, sharp malty finish.

– Fat Tailed Tomme (aged 18-24 months)

  Named for the Awassi in their flock with fat tails! A sheep milk Manchego style. Olive oil rubbed rind. Leafy green sweetness, buttery.

FLAVORED SELECTION:

– Jalapeno Cheddar (aged 2-3 months)

  Jalapeno and habanero are added to the cheddar curd. This is a mild creamy cheese with great pepper flavor throughout, with just a little heat on the finish.

– Caraway Cheddar (aged 3-6 months)

  Adding caraway seeds to the curd brings out the spicy caraway flavor in a cheddar with a semi-firm texture.

– Garlic Pepper Havarti (aged 2-3 months)

  Spring Seasonal. This is a soft and mild Havarti. Garlic flavor with a hint of black pepper. Great for snacking or melting.

– Bosque Blue (aged 4-6 months)

  Rich, mellow, most like a Stilton, with beautiful golden color and blue veining throughout. Creamy, yet crumbly texture with a basket weave outer rind.

Address:

3364 Country Road 299

Dublin, TX 76446

If you come from Stephenville, there will be a church on the right side right before the turn to Country Road 299. Just follow the road, and you will find the farm on your right hand side.

Things to do near the farm

When you ask Texan what they know about Dublin, they will most likely say Dr. Pepper even though they don’t bottle Dr. Pepper there anymore. Anyway, it’s still one of the magnets in town that attract people to visit. For your short visit to Dublin Texas, here are the things that you shouldn’t miss:

1. Visiting Dr. Pepper Museum (Dublin Bottling Works)

The museum shows the process of how the sodas are made from pure cane sugar and bottled to perfection.

Address: 105 E Elm Street, Dublin, TX 76446.

Hours: Mon – Sat: 10 am – 5 pm; Sun: 1pm – 5pm (summer 2020 hours from June – August)

Price: $5 adults $4 kids and seniors

2. Old Doc’s Soda Shop

You just have to stop at this retro diner for sandwiches, desserts, and of course, the authentic sodas made from pure cane sugar.

Address: 105 E Elm Street, Dublin, TX 76446.

Hours: Mon – Sat: 10am – 5pm; Sun: 1pm – 5pm. (Summer 2020 hours)

If you like golf, then you must add this to your itinerary:

3. Ben Hogan Museum

Address: 121 E Blackjack St, Dublin, TX 76446.

Hours: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons and other times by appointment. Call (254) 445 4466.

Admission: Free.

If you like learning about local history, then this is what you must add:

4. Dublin Historical Museum

Address: 116 W Blackjack St, Dublin, TX 76446.

Hours: 1pm – 5pm daily.

Admission: Free.

Where is Dublin, Texas?

Dublin is located in Central Texas, about an hour and a half southwest of Fort Worth, or two hours from Dallas. It’s one hour east of Abilene and two hours northwest of Austin. In 2005, Governor Rick Perry signed a bill designating Dublin the official Irish Capital of Texas.

I hope you will enjoy your visit to Veldhuizen Cheese and your visit to the town of Dublin in Texas!