You’re Guaranteed To Love A Trip To This Epic Cheese Barn In Iowa

The address is 2098 Fisher Ave., Leighton, IA 50143

Try samples, see the real cheese-making process and experience the magic of Frisian Farms Gouda. You won't want to miss the fresh curds!

Over 60% of all of the cheese produced in Holland is Gouda. This semi-hard cheese is named after a Dutch town in South-Holland.

You'll see the process first hand. Raw milk from a storage tank if pumped into a cheese vat early every morning. The milk is heated to 145 degrees for 30 minutes then cooled to 85 degrees. Gouda cultures mix for 20 minutes then the cheese makers add rennet to make the milk coagulate. After about 30 minutes, the curds can be cut with knives. As they separate from the whey, they are cut down to pea size. After the whey is drained from the vats, the curds are packed into molds that make 20-pound cheese wheels. One pound of cheese requires ten pounds of milk. Each batch of cheese yields 14-15 wheels.

After drying for a day, an edible coating is applied to prevent drying. Like traditional Gouda wheels in Holland, Frisian Farms rinds are burnt orange in color.

Each wheel must be flipped daily for two months. Frisian Farms Gouda is always a minimum of eight weeks old. This produces a fresh and mild flavored cheese.

In 2015, Frisian Farms outgrew their original space, and relocated to their current facilities.

Curds are the freshest options. Young cheese is smooth and mild, aged two to three months. Aged cheese is 12 to 18 months old and is full-flavored. Sneek, aged 1,000 days, is a bold and popular option.