I know I did another Dutch product, Bols, back in October, but I'm doing another one. In my defense, after ten years of putting out this blog, it's tough to find new, appropriate fodder for this type of post. Anyway, this one was a Boer'n Trots goat cheese with honey flavor, from Kaamps Estate, by way of our old friend Saputo. (See my post about kasseri cheese on June 27, 2020 for more info about that company.)
Kaamps Estate is located in the small village of Deurningen, in the Twente region of The Netherlands. This farm passed into the current owner's family back in 1920, and for the next 65 years was a regular cow, pig, and chicken farm. However, in 1985 Herbert Nijland and his wife Yvonne started to sell cheese. As well as some other things. The farm also currently has a coffee house, a reception area for holiday and company meetings, and even a petting zoo and playground for children. (Also, in the detailed family history information on the official website, it's noted that an ancestor of Herbert's married a 31 year old woman when he was 71. Which is kind of an odd tidbit to include on the company website, but whatever.) Kaamps Estate has some innovative, or quirky, or both ideas about how to run their farm. For one, the grazing fields are heavy on clover, which has the stated benefit of needing less fertilizer and adding a creamier taste to the milk, resulting in smoother cheese. Also, unlike most dairy farms (I guess?), the cows call some of the shots--if they don't feel like going outside because of the heat, or cold, they're not pressured to do so. Also, they have (special, cow-sized) waterbeds to recline on, and massage brushes to help work out the muscle kinks, and I guess scratch those hard to reach itches. It's not mentioned how the goats are treated, but hopefully also in a nurturing fashion. Then there's the cheeses. Pretty much all of them are washed in either honey or caramel a few times. The reported reason is to give the rind a different, yellow-brown color, and to give the cheese itself a sweet taste. (I didn't realize that consumers cared about the color of the rind around the cheese they buy, but what do I know?) Some of Kaamps' alternate cheese flavors include maple syrup whiskey, X.O. (a crumbly, aged cheese variety), goat cheese with honey and truffles, mushroom and chestnut, pumpkinseed and carrot, chili, and 4 seasons pepper. Also the traditional Dutch staple, regular old gouda.
Boer'n Trots goat cheese, honey flavor: The cheese itself was a pale yellowish-white, with a, not shockingly, honey-brown rind surrounding it. The odor was very slight. The texture was semi-soft--not dry and crumbly, but not spreadable like a brie. As far as the taste, it was salty, and a bit creamy. Tangy. I had some plain, and some on crackers. Both ways were about the same--very good. So definitely a winner, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly. Two things did strike me, though. First, it didn't taste like many of the other goat cheese I've had--it had more a regular cow milk cheese flavor. Also, despite it being bathed in honey, I didn't detect a sweetness to it. Overall it didn't have the most distinctive taste for a cheese, but at the same time I can't say much of anything bad about it.
So no surprises here--it's cheese, so of course I enjoyed it. My only faint criticism is that the Boer'n Trots honey goat cheese was expensive--$17.99 per pound, so my half pound or so set me back about $8. But it was really good, so I would try alternate flavors of Boer'n Trots if given the opportunity.
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