Klaver Kaas is a family cheesemaker that makes the Ons Genot. Klaver Kaas is based in Winkel, North Holland and has been making cheese since 1977. It is based between the North Sea and Ijsselmeer where the land has a very rich, salty soil and produces excellent quality grass. In 2001, the old farm building was converted into a modern facility with a warehouse so that some of the maturation of the cheese could be done on site.
Klaver Kaas know have two locations, with 2100 goats and 400 cows, all of whom graze on the lush meadows and also have vast stables for shelter in the winter.
The milk for the Ons Genot comes from a 300 strong herd of cows that graze on a 150 hectare of grassland. They are fed exclusively on a special selection of grasses, grown on the farmer’s own land, which are cultivated for their higher protein and sugar content. This rich and nutrient rich grass results in a richer, more decadent cheese.
It is traditional and commonplace in the Netherlands for cheeses to be aged away from the dairies in which they are produced, due to space limitations. Ons Genot is aged by Treur Kaas, a business which was launched by Evert Treur, a farmer’s son, in 1955. The company began when Evert started selling cheese sourced from local farmers, from the back of his bicycle, to the local neighbourhood and cheese shops. By the end of that same year, he was successful enough that he needed a car and small warehouse, but could only initially buy one big enough to store 100 cheeses. Demand grew and Evert was able to buy larger and larger buildings, which he converted into warehouses, that could store 16,000kg of cheese initially, then 30,000kg, 120,000kg and finally 320,000kg of cheese. In 1981, the family built their own storage and maturing unit in Woerden, large enough to store 500,000kg of cheese. In 1995, Evert turned 65 and decided to retire, passing the business onto his sons. He was awarded a medal of honour for his contribution to the industry, having worked within it for 40 years.
Ons Genot is a fantastic artisan cheese made to a traditional Flemish recipe on the Belgian Dutch border. ‘One Genot’ translates as ‘our pleasure’ and represents customers universal love of the cheese.
The carbon footprint of free range cows is significantly lower than their barn kept counterparts as food doesn’t need to be grown for them elsewhere and so there are very few, if any, food miles involved in their feeding.
