Q-and-A with John Esh of Goot Essa (Holiday Cheese & Fudge Gift Basket Giveaway)

This summer we learned about Goot Essa, an Amish cheese maker in central Pennsylvania.

The business had adapted to the recent disruption and started selling their foods online (with non-Amish help to run the website).

Last week I spoke with Goot Essa’s founder, John Esh Jr.

John has kindly answered some questions – about his business, personal favorite cheeses, his family’s Christmas Day activities, and his Centre County community.

Goot Essa is a new advertiser here, and John has also offered to give away a holiday gift basket to an Amish America reader – this tasty-looking collection, called the Country Basket:

Goot Essa’s Country Basket

Here’s the description:

Cheeses:

4 oz. Old German Weissa Kase
4 oz. Mountain Home Woodsmoked Cheddar
4 oz. Garden Pepper Jack
6 oz. Der Weichen Gehl
4 oz. Mountain Valley Sharp Cheddar

Condiments:

1.5 oz. Autumn Dawn Apple Butter
1.5 oz. Sweet & Spicy Dipping Mustard
1.5 oz. Nittany Valley Pure Honey
1.5 oz. Gideon’s Sweet Dipping Mustard

Fudges:

3.5 oz. Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge
3.5 oz. Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge

Container: 12 x 12 basket

How to Enter to win the Goot Essa Country Basket

If you’d like to enter for a chance to win the Country Basket, simply leave a comment on this post.

I’ll draw the winner at random and announce it here in a separate post on next Monday, December 14.

Holiday Host cutting board assortment

Q-and-A with John Esh Jr. of Goot Essa

Amish America: How did Goot Essa get started?

John Esh: Nineteen years ago – my dairy nutritionist Bob Patton kept asking – how are you going to keep the farm in the family? We have a small dairy herd and realized that we couldn’t compete with the large farms. We considered our options and chose to start making specialty cheeses.

The Esh family farm in Centre County, PA

Amish America: Who are the other families and farms involved in the business?

John Esh: We buy our goat milk from two Amish farm families and the sheep milk from three Amish farm families. We use their milk to make cheese with.

What’s the community like where you live?

We have about 600 Amish families in the four valleys that we live in. There are about 14 Amish youth groups included in the 600 families.

“Our first cheese cave”

Which is your personal favorite cheese or cheeses?

For breakfast with bacon and eggs I enjoy the Mt. Valley Sharp Cheddar. For a snack I enjoy Felsa Yehr with coffee. For lunch Der Weichen Gehl melted on a sandwich. For dinner some Der Edel bleu Kase with steak.

What are your family’s favorite cheeses?

Old German Weissa Kase with apple butter, Marn vom Berge Kase with strawberry cranberry preserve, Der Edel Bleu Kase with raspberry-red beet spread.

Christmas Pleasures gift basket

Why do customers like your cheese? What do they tell you?

They generally are people who appreciate good quality food. They say it is rare to find so many outstanding/high quality cheeses from one small producer.

What are the gift baskets like?

45 different assortments featuring our 19 cheeses, 13 condiments, 5 fudges. A wide range of cutting boards, handmade Amish baskets, wooden crates.

Christmas Morning basket

How has your family & community been handling the 2020 covid situation?

School was shut down this spring for the last 7 weeks. We had no church services for about 8 weeks.

How do you and your family usually spend Christmas Day and the season?

We enjoy all being together on Christmas Day singing songs, visiting, and enjoying cheese and charcuterie and dessert plates.

Goot Essa cheese shop

What’s one lesson or thing you’ve learned while running Goot Essa?

I’ve met some really nice people – chefs at the restaurants that we work with who also enjoy showing me what they make.

Christmas Party basket

Where can people get your cheese and baskets, and which are some of your most popular items?

Some of the most popular: Mt. Valley Sharp Cheddar, Cheese Lover’s Dream, Country Basket, Country Party. (800) 490-4387, gootessacheese.com

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    323 Comments

    1. Lowell Yoder

      Good to see dairy’s figuring out how to make it work-with so many dairies going out of business. A very beautiful part of PA. Which Amish group is John with?

      Lowell

    2. Sheila Rose

      Country Basket Giveaway

      Very interesting reading Mr. Esh’s story and the basket looks yummy and amazing!!!

    3. Sandra Witeof

      Location

      I would like to visit this shop in person but I didn’t see an address or directions. Is this near Belleville In the Big Valley? The gift basket giveaway is a very nice thing to do. I look forward to your response

      1. Hi Sandra the address is 351 Wise Road, Howard, PA, 16841. Sounds like some other readers have been to the shop and it is a nice place to visit.

    4. Diane Paulson

      YUM!

      May the most deserving win! And I hope that it’s me. Thanks for the opportunity and may the Lord greatly bless your business.

    5. Michael Jay Hochman

      Gift Basket

      Looks great, would love to win this.

    6. Peter B.

      Always enjoy treats from the Amish Community

      Having lived in Lancaster County as a youngster, I enjoy bringing my classes back to visit from NJ to learn about the culture. The food is always a highlight for them and brings back wonderful memories.
      Merry Christmas!

    7. Giveaway

      Thank you for always a interesting article.

    8. Monique Matthews

      Wonderful

      What a lovely business and the cheeses look amazingly delicious, will have to try some. I love smaller family run businesses like this and the products are always stellar.

    9. Donna Gober Jones

      Love the articles

      Would love to try some of the cheeses, their ingredients are always top notched!

    10. Paul Barbano

      Great information

      I always learn something new about the Amish from this site. Thanks!

      1. Glad to hear that Paul, thanks!

    11. Roger Berry

      Good cheese

      I always look forward to tasting Amish made cheese from the Amish community.

    12. Melissa Morphies

      Love

      Love the story. Love supporting small businesses.

    13. patricia wilhelme

      interesting reading about their business also Christmas traditions

      the basket of cheeses is very tempting

    14. Tanya Weber

      Love this

      I love seeing small businesses. I drive Amish scholars,I could never ask for a better past time. I absolutely love all of the families I drive every day. I shop at all their businesses to help keep it local with the current circumstances. Thank uou for highlighting this amazing business and family!

    15. Aleta Gentry

      great story

      Thanks for always sharing new articles and experiences with us!

      1. Gladly! I enjoyed this one. Glad that we got some nice photos of the farm as well. I really like the picture of the first cheese cave. What a beautiful shot.

    16. Edgar Hume

      Good cheese !

      Hello,
      As an admirer of the Amish way of life and having several long gone Amish friends in the past, I cherish your news letter and feel it’s very important in these times.
      Best regards,
      Edgar Hume

      1. Thank you Edgar, that’s very kind.

    17. Great Website

      I went to the Goot Essa website yesterday & was pleasantly surprised by the variety of offerings. The gift baskets will be perfect for the foodies in my life, as well as myself.

    18. Nina Gadomski

      Haven't been able to get out of Illinois...

      Thank you for the giveaway offer. It couldn’t come at a better time. I miss visiting Midwest family farms and especially Wisconsin cheese factories, which are just across our Illinois border but so far away this year. I loved reading about your business transition into something so many can enjoy. Haven’t tasted your cheeses but would love the opportunity to do so because they look so rich and delicious. Thank you for brightening my morning!

    19. Don15668

      Location

      It takes a WISE person to find the WISE road

    20. Beautiful cheese

      This is one place I would love to visit. Cheese is such a staple in all meals. What an amazing variety may the lord richly bless you as you provide such amazing boxes and food for others to enjoy.

    21. Delicious!

      This is a very generous offer! The story of your business is very interesting and I’d love to try your products.
      Merry Christmas!

    22. Thomas L Carpenter

      Looks so good

      All of the photos of the baskets look so appetizing. Every time,I go to the Amish store near Annapolis I spend too much money but the things I buy are all delicious!

    23. I have visited Lancaster, Pennsylvania and the surrounding Amish communities. One of my very favorite destinations! Your Goot Essa website is wonderful.

    24. Amos Yoder
    25. Mark H Chorney

      Love Cheese!

      Here in Maine, sadly many of the smaller dairy farms are now gone. It’s good to see that Josh Esh and family found a way to supplement their farm’s income. Happy Holidays to all AND I WOULD LOVE TO WIN THE BASKET☺

    26. Camille M Lefebvre

      Goot Essa

      This basket of goodies looks amazing! I have had the pleasure of visitng Lancaster PA and really enjoy the food and the Amish Community! Would love to travel to more Amish areas and experience their specialties! Thank you for all the information you share with us on here!

    27. Anita Faulkner

      Love This Article!

      It was interesting to read John’s personal favorites and now I want to try them all!

      Thanks for a great article.

      1. Glad you liked it Anita! I’m happy it worked out. After John and I spoke last week, I emailed the questions over to John’s website manager, and John hand-wrote out some answers for me, they scanned it, emailed back, and I typed it up. So we did a combination of low-tech and higher-tech to make it happen 🙂

    28. Joseph Shemansik

      Holiday give away

      Your products look great. Someday in the near future I will get to your store. I have some Amish friends I see a couple times a month in Lancaster Pa. I love being with them and learning of there customs.

      TY

      Joseph Shemansik

    29. Carl murdock

      Cheese & Fudge Gift Basket Giveaway

      First of I have heard of you. Very interesting. Would love to win the basket!

    30. I will enjoy this.

      Happy to find an assortment of dairy that I can eat. Goat milk is a different protein than cow’s milk.

    31. Kim Albert

      Cheese giveaway

      Ooh I would love to try some of this cheese! I love anything Amish made but I have a weakness for all cheese! Very interesting article!

    32. A

      I will enjoy this.

      Happy to find an assortment of dairy that I can eat. Goat milk is a different protein than cow’s milk.

    33. Beautiful Part of Penna.

      Centre County is one of many, beautiful parts of Penna.

      Born, and raised in Penna. Always love going back to see the countryside, and talk with the people.

      Hope Goot Essa can continue on, and do well, in spite of the current issues making it difficult to be a thriving business.

      Best of luck to Goot Essa, and John Esh.

    34. Debbie

      Q-and-A with John Esh of Good Essa

      Wonderful cheeses and fudge from a beautiful area of the country – what could be better?!

    35. Beverly Williams

      Holiday Cheese & Fudge Gift Basket

      Thank you so much for your articles on the Amish.
      I respect them tremendously. I have saved the Goot Essa website to the your gifts.
      Thank you!

    36. YUM!

      Goat & sheep cheeses can be hard to find outside of our local greenmarkets, & due to Covid I’ve been unable to visit them. The gift basket would be a nice treat given the difficult year we’ve all had.

    37. Marilyn Sullivan

      Great Article

      Thanks for another great and informative article. It is good to see what folks are doing to keep their farms profitable. The cheese industry is really benefiting! I would love to win the cheese basket, but may have to mosey on over to the website to see what’s what. Merry Christmas

    38. AngelaRose A. Howard

      Q-and-A with John Esh

      After numerous Amish setting fictional romances, it is wonderful beyond words to hear from the real Amish world! John sounds warm (heartwise), and yet kindly reserved with the “Englisch” as is perceived in the fiction.
      To spend time in/with an Amish community is on my “Hope to Do Someday” list.
      Cheese is a favourite food and fudge with hot coffee sounds good, so … I add my name to the Pick Me! List.
      Freuliche Christnacht, Herr Esh, und may God continue to prosper your business.

    39. Brian

      Merry Christmas to all!

      Wonderful to see small businesses thriving and successful even during these tough times.
      Peace to all.

    40. Suzanne Sellner

      Great Gift Options

      I loved reading the information about this particular Amish business and also perusing the online catalog of gift baskets. What a nice variety of price ranges and selections! I ordered a couple gifts for my sister and a friend. Furthermore, I have signed up to receive promotional information in the future. I hope Goot Essa receives many orders from your e-article about their business!

    41. G. J. Stewart

      Great Reads every day!

      I read about the Amish every day here. I would love to win this gift basket.

      Many Thanks.

    42. Christine Kilner

      Great Article

      Thank you for an interesting Q & A! Also thank you for the chance.

    43. kim hansen

      Always enjoy trying new cheeses.

    44. Jan Chevalier

      Gift Basket Giveaway

      Always appreciate the quality of the Amish made items.

      May the Lord bless all of you during the season and the coming year.

    45. Christine McMahon-Chase

      Goot Essa

      Thrilled to see Goot Essa on your site. I subscribe to a YouTube channel of a Mennonite mom and she has raved about them! I also signed up for their newsletter. They have many wonderful looking items and if I don’t ‘win’ the basket, I’ll still be ordering

    46. Carolyn Utter

      Beautiful and Tasty Gifts

      Wow! These cheeses and spreads sound and look delicious! Would love to give them a try.

    47. Connie Collins

      I would love to win the Holiday Cheese and Fudge Gift Basket. I still plan on ordering come cheese for my family!

    48. Richard Warnke

      Great!

      This appears to be a very interesting concern: Some fine folks who have adopted the American free-enterprise spirit, make a quality repertoire of tasty products, and offer them for sale to the country via the internet. I wish them well — and probably will try several.

    49. David Shreeves

      I appreciate your article. We live close to Kalona, Ia. Your story gives me a greater appreciation for all the work to produce your cheeses.
      Blessings

      1. Neat to hear that David. I spent 3 days in the Kalona settlement in 2004. I ran into at least a couple of sheep milk producers among the Amish. I understand specialty milk is a thing there. Nice area from all I remember.

    50. Nancy Treusch

      Goot Essa

      We had the opportunity to visit Goot Essa in early November. The operation is amazing and the location is absolutely beautiful. Everyone there was so friendly. They even gave us a tour of the cheese caves! We left there with every cheese that they make, plus gifts for our family and friends.