Goot Essa Cheese Giveaway (Plus: A Closer Look at Cheese Caves)
We’re doing a cheese basket giveaway for Goot Essa. You can enter to win simply by leaving a comment on this post. I’ll post the winner here Friday.
The assortment that owner John Esh and co. are giving away is called “Amish Tastes” (see below):
From the description:
This medium-bodied cheese trio features a palate-pleasing array of flavors. From our buttery Old German Weissa Kase to our rich and smoky Mountain Home Woodsmoked Cheddar and the savory-sweet Mountain Valley Sharp Cheddar, there’s something for everyone.
It includes the following, and serves 3-4:
Cheeses:
- 4 oz. Old German Weissa Cheese
- 4 oz. Mountain Home Woodsmoked Cheddar Cheese
- 4 oz. Mountain Valley Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Condiments:
- 1.5 oz. Autumn Dawn Apple Butter
- 1.5 oz. Reuben’s Stone Ground Mustard
- 1.5 oz. Sweet & Spicy Dipping Mustard
To enter for a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post. I’ll draw a random winner and announce it this Friday, so be sure to check back.
You can also subscribe in the box at the bottom of this post (free) to make sure you’re notified through our email newsletter.
John Esh on Cheese Caves & Running A Family Business
I put together a video with some excerpts from my extended conversation with John Esh.
John explains cheese caves, different types of cheeses, and the family aspect of his business – something that always seems to be important in Amish businesses.
Check out the video or read the full transcript below. You’ll also see some photos below of the cheese caves from my visit to Goot Essa.
John & Erik Talk Cheese
John Esh of Goot Essa: …So he kept asking me there in the nineties, John, how do you plan to keep your family on the farm? Because I know that you cannot compete on the same scale as a herd that’s 3,000 cows with your 70 cows.
Well, we knew we had a quality product – milk. We came up with the idea – Let’s let’s get some cheese made.
We started selling our cheeses to restaurants, to some cheese shops. And the restaurants, they were looking for some more European-style cheeses, the cheeses with a natural rind.
So we’re talking cheeses like manchego, pecorino, camembert, blue cheese, Gruyere style, the European style, in addition to the cheddars, the flavored cheddars, those types of cheeses. So that’s where we’ve now come, where we have 19 cheeses that we produce.
Cheese Caves
Erik Wesner: What is a cheese cave? What’s that for? Why is that important?
John: Basically, what we have is three different rooms in the side of a hill here close to the mountain, and we encased it in concrete. And the reason for the cave environment is the humidity needs to be about 90%. For the natural rind, the cheese rests on wooden boards.
John: The room is, like, 14 feet wide, 52 feet long is the largest room. The soft cheeses, we have in a much smaller room.
But, again, the the reason for the cave is the high humidity and the cool environment. About 52 degrees, 85% humidity, and that’s where the cheeses will rest on the wooden shelves and develop a natural rind.
After the cheese is brined, we’ll put them on the shelf, and that creates a, like, a hard skin around the outside, and that that will then become a natural rind, which protects the interior of the cheese.
John: And the reason the humidity is so critical is if it gets too dry in the cave, the rind will crack and allow unwanted molds to get inside there.
And the only cheese we want to have be moldy on the inside is the blue cheese. And that one, we probe to allow the oxygen to get inside there. And then it’s also in a separate room. That’s in a separate cave. So that’s one of the three caves.
Erik: So you’ve got to keep it pretty precise there, it sounds like. Someone keeps an eye on that, I guess.
John: Very precise. Yes. In fact, that’s Jacob’s job. He does a really good job with monitoring that humidity and the temperatures in there.
The Milk
Erik: Where does the milk come from, and what kind of milk do you guys use? It’s not all cow milk, is it?
John: That is correct. The cow milk comes from our herd here on the farm. The sheep milk comes from our daughter Sadie and her husband Sam. And then the goat milk comes from another Amish farm family, Henry and Ruta Wengerd.
It really is our mission, is to keep families on the farm. We do what we can to create a market for these farm families.
Family
Erik: And you’re also working with, at least one family member, with your daughter?
John: That is correct. And then our son John is quite involved in the business as well, including quality control and shipping. Our son Jacob is involved in order fulfillment, and then my wife, Anna Mary, makes the fudge, the apple butter.
My niece, Linda, makes the jellies. Then we also have several other children who have been involved, particularly seasonally.
Erik: Sounds like it’s pretty useful to have a big family then.
John: [laughing] Well, there are some advantages. That is correct. And we’ve been blessed. We’ve been really blessed with some really nice children.
Favorite Cheeses
John: The most popular one really is the Mountain Valley Sharp Cheddar. That’s our aged cheddar that we age for three and a half years.
Erik: I had it. I think yeah. Tasty.
John: That’s years. Three and a half years. That’s a that’s a long time. Yes. It is. And it’s you know, there’s a lot of challenges with trying to guess what you’ll need three and a half years down the road.
John: In the gift baskets, a very popular gift cheese is the Old German Weissa Kase. That means “old German white cheese”, and that’s a very popular gift cheese. It’s a nice, creamy – has a creamy mouthfeel, a bit of a tang. It’s not intimidating, and it’s not super assertive.
We do have some that are pretty intense, but the people who buy those perhaps have tasted them before, are familiar with the style and know what they’re getting.
We’re not McDonald’s in any way. This is a handmade artisanal product, so you have some variation batch to batch. But we work hard to make sure that the variation isn’t too great, because the American palate really expects that one experience will be very similar to the next.
John: About 15 years ago, we started putting these in gift assortments. So in addition to making these cheeses and selling, to restaurants and wineries, we now also do gift baskets that we ship nationwide.
We have quite a group of people who have learned to appreciate the value in having some really good cheese along with the condiments packed together in a in a gift assortment.
But here at the shop, we do quite a bit of tastings as well, where people come and they taste the samples and then make their selections, for whatever gifts they want.
But online, we also have a lot of descriptors. So the people who choose to buy online, they can they can see the descriptors quite easily of what to expect from this cheese.
Browse Goot Essa cheese assortments here.
Update: Find the Goot Essa contest winner & more here
For more, see:
Cheese Caves
I have great respect for cheese aged in cheese caves. I started my career at Sandstone Treasure Cave Blue cheese in the bluffs of Faribault Mn in 1980.
Worked with Amish brothers (Hershberger’s) at Brewster Dairy in the late 80’s in Brewster Ohio.
Best regards,
Ron Pribyl
Mouth watering
The assortment of cheese just on this site is wonderful. You can’t help but want to sample each and every one. I am from Ohio and we love everything made and sold by the Amish. A place called Catalpa Grove, we love going there every summer to buy products they grow, make, sell. What I love the most is knowing all things from the Amish are natural, healthy. Now, the one product sold by the Amish that causes us to travel each year to the grove is the sweet corn they grow and sell. Much of the corn we buy in stores or roadside stands sugar must be added to achieve the sweetness that makes your lips smack, but not Catalpa Grove. Their corn is naturally sweet. We have never found any corn better. Corn left over we put in fridge and I piece on in the evenings, no butter, not reheat, just cold. Even when eating cold, it is fantastic.
Now, don’t get me started on their cheese. The problem we have with their cheese is it doesn’t last long in our fridge. Great cheese has a tendency to disappear rapidly in our home. Thank you Amish folks and God bless you and keep you always, in Jesus name, amen.
Cheese!!
Is there anything more wonderful than the world of cheese? I was emotionally invested after the first tour I took of a small cheese house in Wisconsin in my teens. The fresh cheese curds didn’t hurt either… Cheese is a special thing. Much like a brewer, it’s a real craft & quality is easy to spot. While I never made my way into that industry, once I retire, I hope to try it out for myself. Thanks for another great article!
Tasty cheeses
I have gotten to know a lot of Amish over the last year driving them to weddings, funerals, vacations and family visits. I would love to win this to try these cheeses. Thank you for the good articles.
Mike
Eric, who doesn’t need cheese for Christmas? Thank you for keeping us all in the know about all things Amish!
Merry Christmas!
That’s a really good question Liz! Love seeing all you cheese lovers here with me. Thanks much and Merry Christmas to you too 🙂
Interesting article…I would love to try some Goot Essa cheese!
What an impressive operation! So interesting hearing about the cheesemaking process/caves as well as the mission to keep families on farms. Looks delicious and is a business I would want to support!
AmishCheese Please
I Love mish Cheese.
Excellent products!
I bought a sampling of cheeses from Goot Essa a few months ago and it was excellent!
Cheeses
Thank you for sharing the info on the different kinds of cheeses. There is so much work that goes into the process. It is really amazing. I would love to try the cheese.
Cheese caves
I wish we had a store like this around Ephrata, PA. With all of our dairy cows and Amish neighbors, I believe they would do a roaring business. Our favorite Amish market stand, Reiffs, would be a good place to create a following. We would definitely be their biggest customers!
Say Cheese
Oh I would love to be able to watch and learn about how this is done! The cheese looks wonderful!
Cheese!
Please enter me in the giveaway! I’ve given Goot Essa cheese as a gift several times, but never bought any for myself–I’d love to try it and share it with co-workers!
Great gift
I greatly enjoyed learning about how Goot Essa Cheese is made. One of my sons sent a Goot Essa Cheese gift basket to his brother for Christmas last year, and he said it was fantastic. I would love to be able to try some myself!
Great Cheeses
These cheeses would highlight a Christmas party, for sure.
My mouth is watering!
These cheeses are beautiful—and since I can eat only goat and sheep’s milk cheese, it’s extra good for me!
What a great article Erik. Best on cheese I ever read. You always do a great job with these newsletters. I thoroughly enjoy them. Brad Igou had talked highly of you to me several times in the past. I think you know him?
Cheese Giveaway
Love the cheese
Cheese
This is a very interesting post about Amish cheese making. I had no idea that cheese caves were used to age the cheese. I am now extremely hungry for some cheese. I have great respect for the commitment and patience it takes to make great cheese. Thank you for this insightful article. Keep up the good work. I may just have to order some.
Pam
Cheese Giveaway
Would love to try Amish made cheese!
Cheese
Amazing how they work and make these products, would love to try, win and enjoy being able to even visit someday. A true blessing.
Cheese basket giveaway
Hi Erik, The video with you & John Esh was very enjoyable and informative. I always like when family members are involved with the business. That’s is one of many things that I like about the Amish. Wishing you, your family, John Esh & his family a blessed Merry Christmas
Blessed Christmas!
Nobody makes better cheese than the Amish! Thank you for all you do, and wishing you all a peaceful and blessed Christmas.
Cheese give away
We absolutely love your cheese, especially the chicken soup flavored cheese!
Stephanie Schwartz 612-298-3679
ssskimchee@gmail.com
Midwife, Author
facebook: authorstephanieschwartz
Cheese
I’ve only heard of these cheese caves a few times. I do know several larger Amish cheese businesses gave had Listeria.
Cheese... what's not to love?
Thanks for the articles I receive in my inbox! I enjoy reading them all as I am friends with several Amish here in Indiana, and am interested in anything about their lifestyle and beliefs. Wow, I had no idea how cheese was made or stored so this article was really interesting to me. I also would love a chance to sample the cheese from Goot Essa, especially after reading how it was made!!!!
Giveaway Entry
Those cheeses look delicious
Cheese Caves
How interesting is this! Their cheese and jellies are the best! Thank you!
I have been here while on vacation. Great cheese!! Thanks for the opportunity to win
I especially enjoyed the article about the cheese caves as never knew that there was such a thing!! Always have cheese in my house as cheese and crackers make a great snack as well as something to serve if friends drop over.
cheese giveaway
Hi
Love your articles!
I have many Amish friends but always learn something from your articles.
Love Goot Cheees company
Erik, we love this Amish family farm and cheese company! Thanks and Merry Christmas!
I would like to enter to win the cheese basket.
For the love of cheese!
I love how these cheese are in actual underground “caves” and made with local family farm milks. What a beautiful process and product. Thank you for sharing their work!
That sounds wonderful! I live close by to an Amish run cheese factory, but I don’t believe they have the cheese caves like this. Very interesting!
It was very interesting to learn how this Amish family makes cheese. I wish the Amish near us made cheese. They mostly make sheds. We did get them to make a nice tiny house for our daughter and her husband.
Cheese
Hi, thanks for the opportunity. I love cheese. I remember video an Amish cheese store in Shipshewana, I always looked forward to the cheese my Grandpa would bring home each year when he visited.
Interesting!
I look forward to informative articles in amishamerica.com. I enjoyed learning about cheese making and cheese caves. Now my mouth is watering for good cheese!
Just looking at those pictures makes my mouth water. Would LOVE to receive one of those gift baskets!
That's good cheese
The Amish make really good cheeses. I know, I used to be Amish, and ate a lot of it
Making Cheese
I’ve only made mozzarella a time or two, but would like to try making cheddar one of these days. Cheesemaking is so interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Fascinating story
I have tried unsuccessfully to make hard cheese a few times and it isn’t easy. I admire this business and how they locally source their various milks and incorporate the family into the business. I wish them much success.
My Hope
To me, Christmas is the time to remember the Birth of Our Lord and for ssharing. While I love cheese, I prefer to share. Ergo, please continue making your marvelous products, and I hope to win so that I could share them.
Good
Cheese looks great. Great story
Cheese Caves
How interesting is this! Their cheese and jellies are the best! Thank you!
I didn't know
I really like the idea of a cheese cave. Everything looks so clean and beautiful. I guess it’s also a lot of work. Seems cheese makers are quite creative
Yum!
This brings to memory the wonderful cheeses I enjoyed in Holmes County 50 years ago!
OH, I wish I could taste this cheese!
This story was so very well written that I can almost taste the cheese.
Cheese
The cheese looks so very good. I would love to sample it. Please enter me in the drawing.
Cheese please!
Very interesting article, i am sure the cheeses are delicious!
Goot Essa Cheese
Yum! I can practically taste the cheeses described here! I found the article extremely interesting and quite informative. I love that these cheeses contain all natural ingredients and are made using various products from different Amish families. Amazing!
Cheese Lover
I would liebe to win a basket and try thee cheese! Thee baskets look amazing and may just be ordering some for friends and family. Danke for taking thee time to read this.