(1 min video below)
Luckily a fellow traveler let us know that reservations were needed for these free self-guided tours of the Tillamook Creamery. A week before our planned time in Tillamook we reserved a spot so it was smooth sailing when we arrived. It was awesome to walk and read about the process while getting to watch their sanitized and face-covered employees working in the plant through large glass windows. I was most surprised at how big the cheese blocks were – 40 pounds! After a taste test they take 10% of the block to send away to sell in grocery stores and the other 90% is put into the large fridge to age further (up to 5 years!) for sharp cheddar.
The above picture is the process of cheese making (hopefully in the correct order).
We learned dairy farmers are bringing in milk 24/7 and it gets used for cheese or ice cream within 24 hours of arrival.
They make about 4 types of cheese and 30 flavors of ice cream – which we definitely tried (several of them!).