Gouda for You : Farms

17487 E. Lone Tree Road, Escalon, Calif. 95320. (209) 838-2491

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Eight years ago, Lenneke and Walter Bulk moved from their native Holland to a farm in Escalon, just south of the Sacramento Delta. “We were looking for a way to have our own business,” Lenneke Bulk recalled recently. “Other ventures didn’t succeed--and we missed our Gouda.”

The couple had never made cheese before, but their families had. So the pair converted their neighbor’s barn into a cheesemaking room, imported cheesemaking equipment and culture from the Netherlands and began to make cheese.

The Bulks now produce about 1,500 pounds of preservative- and chemical-free cheeses each week: regular and aged Gouda, Gouda with garlic and Gouda with cumin. While they don’t have their own herd of cows, their small farm is surrounded by dairies from which they get their milk. The aged Gouda, made from the milk of a herd of Holsteins, develops a full flavor during its five to six months of aging. The result is an outstanding sharpish cheese with a smooth texture.

Bulk Farms sells its cheese at farmer’s markets in the Escalon area and by mail order. The aged Gouda, sold in 10-pound wheels, runs $3.55 per pound. UPS charges (about $3 in California) are extra.