Blue Cheese Mecca




The day for our much-anticipated trip to Newton, home to the Maytag dairy farm, has finally come. Four of us played the role of dairy pilgrims, paying a quick visit to the source of the world's finest Blue Cheese.


The arrow points the way to Maytag's international headquarters

Regular readers will remember my fascination with one of Iowa's locally made delicacies, Maytag Blue Cheese. Weeks ago, I circled today's date on my calendar. We find ourselves today in Newton, the home of Maytag Blue Cheese. The school where we are performing is just a couple of miles away from the dairy farm, so a few of us took advantage of our midday break by checking in on the local cheesemakers.

The front-office of the Maytag Blue Cheese operation contains a small area in the front that serves as its visitor center. The company is still a family-run operation, headed by Fritz Maytag. He is one of the sons of Fred Maytag, the inventor of their signature product. We learned from our guides that, in addition to the cheese business, Fritz owns the Anchor Steam brewery and York winery in California. There weren't many workers in the office, and I got the distinct impression that Fritz was probably somewhere in the building. It occurred to me that I might ask if we could say hello to him in person. I had fantasies of him taking the four of us on a Wonkaesque tour of his dairy factory, but then thought better of it. The man probably needed the time to oversee his wine and cheese empire, and we were due back at school for our afternoon engagement.


Cheesemaking droids at the Maytag Visitor Center

Our hosts fixed us a platter of crackers spread with Maytag Blue. The four of us marveled at the cheese's remarkable consistency and smoothness. Nicole and Brian noted that the extreme creaminess of the cheese gives it a mildness that other sharper, more pungent blue cheeses often lack. We helped ourselves to the stacks of catalogs and recipe packets. A quick glance through the materials revealed that there are several creative ways to use Maytag Blue Cheese in salad dressings and dips. It can also be used to great effect in soups, breads, casseroles, and even in apple pie crust (is that my mother-in-law's secret ingredient?). I was mildly surprised, but not disappointed, to find that the packet lacked instructions for a Maytag Blue Cheesecake.

Now there's an idea.

Posted: Fri - February 18, 2005 at 12:02 PM      

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