I posted a few days ago about some things I traded my garlic for. Here are a couple more:
My garlic got me a nice discount for some eggs and cheese. These came from Het Marlanner Kaashuis (Fries and Dutch languages). The cheese is handmade by the farmer there, and in my opinion is among the best tasting cheese I have ever had. It’s traditional Dutch/Fries style, sometimes called ‘Gouda’ by people outside of Holland. It’s made with milk from his own certified organic/bio-dynamic raised cows. It tastes so wonderful compared to commercial cheese, it’s made without any added color or other chemicals and the milk comes from well cared for cows. They sell many different kinds of cheeses, ranging from young to very mature, and many made with different herbs and spices. Some of the herbs come from their own garden, or are collected from nearby wild areas.
One of the most important aspects of this cheese is the biodiversity behind it. The area this farm is located in is rich in natural biodiversity. The cows have no fewer than 75 different grasses and other plants to eat (the farmer calls these ‘herbs’), and I have seen several different breeds of cows in his fields and barn.
Their eggs too have a wonderful fresh taste. People in North America will immediately notice something strange about the eggs. Here in Holland (and I think most of Europe) a ‘dozen’ eggs aren’t really a dozen. Here they sell eggs in packages of 10. If you’re wondering if the eggs are free range or not, if you visit just poke your head around the corner from the shop and have a look at them running around.
I hope I’m not giving away a trade secret here if I tell you when they have spoiled cheese that can no longer be sold, they feed it to the chickens. Perhaps this is part of the reason the eggs taste so special!
They also sell meat from their cows, as well as a wide variety of other organic and bio-dynamic products. They give tours, if you arrange it with them in advance.
They are not able to use my garlic in their cheese now, because it’s not certified organic or bio-dynamic like the rest of their products. They have however said they will use my garlic as planting stock in their own garden, eventually to also be certified and used in their cheeses.
Although it’s in a very remote part of Friesland, a province in the north of The Netherlands, it’s worth a visit if you are ever in the area. It’s on the road between Metslawier and Ee, and if you are coming from Ee it’s on the left hand side. They are open Monday-Saturday 10-13.00 and again from 15-20.00.
The label on this bottle says Kürbis Kern Oel [Ölmühle Hötzl/Mureck(a)].
This is pumpkin seed oil. It comes from a Swiss neighbor of mine, and I understand it’s popular in both Switzerland and Austria. It’s commonly served on salads, but can also be used in other dishes. It’s supposed to both taste good and have health giving properties. I had some the other day and it’s really delicious.
It has a brown color, but according to Wikipedia if you put it on yogurt it turns green. I haven’t tried this yet!
