Tour the Veldhuizen Cheese in Dublin, Texas.
Who would have thought that this Veldhuizen Cheese Farm is in Dublin, Texas? I mean, Texas can be very hot in the summer, and it’s not uncommon to wear shorts and T-shirts during winter.
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The 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 visit Veldhuizen!
A bit of 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 up with an idea to approach dairy from a different angle: cheese. Long story short, Veldhuizen Cheese was born in 2000 in Dublin, Texas.
Starting with just one variety of cheese, they now offer more than 20 types of artisan raw milk cheeses.
They produce three different cheeses made from fresh, pure sheep milk, as well as two varieties of blended milk cheese that combine cow and sheep.
Additionally, they have incorporated flavors such as honey, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, and dark beer into their cheeses to create unique taste experiences.
All the milk comes from their cows and sheep that graze freely on their 180-acre, pesticide-free farm.
Most of the cows are Jersey and Guernsey breeds, with a few mixed breeds. Their priority is to produce high-quality milk rather than a high quantity of milk.
As for the dairy sheep, they consist of Awassi, Lacaune, and East Friesian.
Tour the Veldhuizen Cheese
Veldhuizen Cheese Farm offers cheese-making tours every Thursday at noon and on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
To participate in a tour, you must sign up and pay online through the Veldhuizen Cheese website.
Please note that tours may be canceled in the event of adverse weather conditions. It’s advisable to call ahead if the weather appears questionable.
The cost of the tour is $8 for adults, $6 for children aged 6-12, and free for children under 6. Group tours are also available by appointment only. The rates start at $6/person.
They don’t offer tours in August. It resumes in September.
Click here for the upcoming tours.
My Cheese-making Tour Experience
There were five adults and one child on the day I took the cheese-making tour at the Veldhuizen Cheese.
The cheese-making tour began with a cheese tasting. Everyone received a cheese-tasting sheet that listed cheeses, their ingredients, and aging durations. There’s a tasting note under every cheese where we can write down our opinions.
On the day of the tour, we tasted seven different cheeses. Two from the mild selection: Dublin Karst and Redneck Cheddar; two from the medium selection: Wooly Texas and Mixed Milk Gouda; one from the sharp selection: Sharp Shooter; and two from the 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.
After the cheese tasting, Connie Veldhuizen, the co-owner, explained the cheese-making process to us. Just like at a couple of cheese farms I saw in Amish Country, Ohio, we can watch the cheesemakers behind a large window behind the store’s counter. There were only two people who worked because Veldhuizen Cheese is a small farm.
Cheese-making began with the milking process, where raw milk was piped right into the vat and made into cheese. There are two tubs where they produce the cheese. That day, they were making cheddar cheese, and it was already in the curds process.
From here, Connie took us to the cheese cave built into the side of a hill. It is where they expertly age 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 underground, they have to use 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 brine until a natural rind is formed. They wash cheddar twice a week, and for blue cheese, it is three times a week. That’s also the time when they flip each cheese.
Cheese-making is not an easy process.
Then we moved to another cave where they store cheeses other than cheddar cheese. Blue cheeses were placed in a different room because they needed mold during the aging process. We could only peek into the room where they aged the blue cheeses.
Next, Connie took us to see the sheep and shared with us about life on the farm. As I mentioned above, all the milk comes from their cows and sheep. They plant crops for the animals to graze all year round. The pastures are planted with native grasses, oats, millet, alfalfa, and barley, depending on the season.
Veldhuizen Cheese is a family farm. The Veldhuizen family 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 is a family business.
At the end of the tour, we went back to the store. When we looked through the window, the cheesemakers were cutting the curd mats into smaller pieces.
I didn’t wait until the following 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 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. Tour prices are the same as 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.
Some of 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.
– 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.
– 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 a 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.
– 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.
SHARP SELECTION:
– Double Barrel Cheddar (aged 2 years)
Aged for over 2 years, this dark golden cheddar is sharp with an amazing richness.
– 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.
– 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.
Veldhuizen Cheese Farm 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.
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 Farm.
I just love tasting local cheeses when we travel but I had no idea that Texas had a cheese farm! I love that Veldhuizen Cheese produces so many varieties of cheese. I’d love to try the Texas Star (as I love Swiss cheese) and the Sheep Gouda. Yum!
Yes. I think most people don’t realize that Texas has cheese farms, including the Texan themselves.
This is interesting. Ever since I discovered that there are a lot of different cheese available, I have always been curious to learn more about then and if there’s an opportunity to try this as well.
Thank you for sharing about the Veldhuizen Cheese and I am excited to try this. Will make sure to sample one during our next US trip.
You know, people go on about wine tours and we’ve done some and they were ok, but we’re not really wine people… but cheese, oh yeah!! This is one tour you can sign be up for right away!! Would love to learn more about the process of making it. It’s also cool that there is a Dublin in Texas!
We’re not wine people also. We are cheese (and chocolate) people. lol. And yes. There’s Dublin in Texas. 🙂
I never would have thought of a cheese producer in Texas. I’m used to hearing about cheeses being made in colder climates so it doesn’t surprise me that they needed air conditioning in their ‘cave’. I would love to take a tour and taste their varieties.
Yes. It is unheard of. The owner is originally from Wisconsin where over there they don’t have to put air conditioning in the cave. The learned a lot from there I guess.
I have always heard about cheese farms in Europe but it is really interesting to find Veldhuizen Cheese farm in Texas too. Good to know it is located in Dublin, Texas. Also taking a 6USD tour for adult is not a very expensive one and I find the rates quite reasonable. Wow they have so many selections too from mild to flavored ones. I would love to check some flavored selections.
It really surprises a lot of people since normally cheese farms found in Europe. The tour price is reasonable and their cheeses are yummy.
I am quite fond of cheese and I love experimenting new ones. I like Gouda and Cheddar. I have done cheese tasting in Giethoorn in Netherlands and I totally loved it. Freshness of it makes the difference. It was good to know about Veldhuizen Cheese and the farm tour. Life on farm is definitely something that is not easy but once you start loving it, there is nothing better than it.
Yes. The freshness makes the difference.
Cheese with a dutch name in a town with an Irish name in the USA, this is confusing! I come from a country of cheese (France) and I’m always curious to see what other countries are doing. Obviously, they have developped the know-how and are producing some fine cheese!
Haha… I never thought it that way. But it made it really interesting. I’m glad you learned something about the US today though.
Woah! I’d never have associated cheese making with Texas. Love all those photos of the cheese wheels. They look really delicious!
They do taste delicious.
Yes. Happy cows and sheeps = delicious cheese!
Man I do love eating cheese! That’s probably the one food I couldn’t live without. I like all the flavors they offer. Interesting that they add in Butterscotch as a flavor. I wonder how that would taste. Their little cheese cave must have been cool to see…probably a little stinky…but still cool!
My family and I love cheese, too. We eat it everyday. Haha… I wish I could taste everything they offer though.
I just love cheese! These cheese wheels are impressive. But the phrases, Texas, summer and cheese do not mix well at all! Haha makes sense they stop shipping in the summer time due to the heat. If I could have the opportunity to try some of this tasty cheese I would want to try the spicy, jalapeno cheeses. I love beer but I’m not sure how the beer and cheese combo would taste…hmm. Over all what a very interesting place that I would love to visit! Thank you for sharing!
The jalapeno cheese is my husband’s favorite. There’s a hint of bittersweet for the one with beer, but sometimes you didn’t taste it. Weird. Haha…
That’s a lot of cheese! I just went to a dairy farm myself. They only did cheese curds, but had lots of milk and ice cream as well. I think it’s so fun to see how things are actually made. I think it would be awesome to see a cave full of yummy cheese wheels! I think I’d have to skip any of those flavors though, sounds a little to strong for my tastes.
The cheese cave was awesome. It was something new to me. I would like to visit an ice cream factory. It will be fun to taste them. There’s one about 3-4 hours drive from where I live that I hope to visit after everything is back to normal.
I love doing tours of local products like Veldhuizen Cheese in Dublin. Once you have tried fresh products, it is hard to go back to standard grocery store fare. We love our cheese, so this would be a good one for us if we visit Texas. How great to see that the children have stayed in the family business. Far too many places we have toured say it has been hard to interest the children in the family businesses.
You are right. Fresh products are way better. It surprised me, too, that the children stay and help. Probably because it’s not that far from bigger cities.