Tillamook Cheese factory (Albany, Grants Pass, Scappoose: how much, buy, high school)

[firstmate1]

I would like to know if there is odor involved in the processing of cheese in Tillamook, Oregon and would like input from any folks living in the area.

[tiffela74]

ive never lived in Tillamook, but used to camp at CapeLookOut every weekend when i was younger, my folks still go there a lot, and we've been to the TCF more times than i can count and ive never noticed any smell....

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by firstmate1

I would like to know if there is odor involved in the processing of cheese in Tillamook,

Only when they're ripening the Limburger.

[Bayside]

Tillamook in town smells like cow manure.It has as long as I can remember.Of course cheese is made from milk and everybody knows where milk comes from.I don't think the cheese factory it's self stinks but all surrounding areas do,even in north Tillamook county.Summer is the worst.....



Thx..Dave

[longing 4home]

hey, are you disin' the smell of cow manure? I grew up on a dairy farm in S.OR and off and on sold to the creamery/cheese factory in Grants Pass. It all brings back wonderful, fragrant memories. There are odors(in cheese making), not much different than the smell of warm milk. Well, maybe a little beyond, but nothing horrible, like maybe hmmmm.... maybe the pulp mills in the Albany area. Are those things still around? Now that's more the smell of new age dairies in CA. By the way, California cows are not happy cows, and they don't make great california cheese. Bandon and Tillamook which I think are one and the same now still make the best cheese.

[manzanite]

I have noticed a slightly sweet smell near the cheese factory, not upleasant, just noticeable. However, the smell of cow manure (as some here call it, the smell of money) will totally overwhelm any smells from the factory. On a warm day when the liquified "product" is being sprayed on a field, you get the full effect even if you are just driving by with the windows rolled up.

[provincal b]

Tillamook High School grad here. A few points on the smell of Tillamook.

1. You would be crazy to deny that it does smell very ripe some days.

2. It's something you get used to. It's not like after 5 years of living there, you are thinking about cow crap smells. A couple days of the year, you might notice it when the wind blows just right and you roll up your window, no biggie.

3. And to me, for the most part, cow manure doesn't smell nearly as bad as dog or human feces, almost earthy. Probably because cows only eat grass.

4. Evidently is -can- bother people who aren't used to it, or don't want to get used to it. I heard from a Scappoose H.S. Grad that their football team had a conspiracy theory: Before important football games, the farm behind the THS football field would spray manure to olifactorily terrorize the visiting team. The implication being that the Tillamook Cheesemakers (yes that is our official nickname) would be immune to any ill effects of the smell....

But the factory itself? Naaahh. Like the above poster said, -maybe- a slight warm milk smell.

Considering that Tillamook County has more cows than people, and considering how much cows poop, it's remarkable that it doesn't smell more, IMO.

PS. After all this cheese-talk, I'm really wishing I could have some curds from the Factory for breakfast this morning!

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by provincal b

...
PS. After all this cheese-talk, I'm really wishing I could have some curds from the Factory for breakfast this morning!

That's for sure, yum!!!

Cheese and milk processing plants do have the 'sweet' smell, reminds me when I was a kid, riding into the plant with the bulk truck driver. He would always buy me an 'orange' Meadow Gold drink!

yum

[tiffela74]

well ya, i will agree that there is the cow pooh smell there, i thought the OP was asking about noticable smells from the actual factory......
i always get a block of extra sharp chedder, some crackers, and a bit of sausage, then finish up w/a choco icecream cone w/Tillamook Ice Cream....oh bliss....

[turnerfamily]

BTW,Tillamook bought the Bandon Cheese Factory and name then shut it down and put those people out of work.You might see cheese with Bandons name on it but it wasn't produced there.In my opinion "Tillamook cheese stinks!"