CHEESE

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Extra Sharp Cheddar

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DAIRY

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Tillamook

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The Tillamook Way is a way of life—the way our farmer-owners have done things since 1909.

We cared for our farmer-owners, who cared for the land, which sustained healthier cows, which provided better milk. And better milk made better dairy products. It’s a simple recipe that we’ve followed for over a century and it has never failed.

For 110 years, we’ve stood behind the honest values of our farmer-owners. It’s from them we’ve learned passion can’t be faked, hard work can’t be outsmarted, and real food is worth fighting for.

TillamookFounded by a collection of farmers
And they continue to be at the heart of all we do, providing us with high-quality milk and governing our business. Today, dairy farmers are facing challenges: economic uncertainty, more scrutiny and constant change, to name just a few. While farming is a challenging industry, TCCA is right there with our farmer-owners, providing the support and resources farmers need to not only survive but thrive.

Stewardship
It’s been a part of our journey since the very beginning. And it’s how we’re working toward Dairy Done Right.

When you get right down to it, being good stewards starts with a sense of caring. We believe that caring for cows and farms, for people and products, for our community and the environment is not just about smart business, it’s about staying true to our values.

Shaping the future. Preserving our past.
You expect our products to be delicious. You also expect them to be made the right way. Our six Stewardship Commitments not only ground us, they guide us as we grow. That’s why we’re putting even more care and hard work into upholding our values as we move forward. Now and for generations to come.

These six Commitments guide us and ensure that everything we do is underpinned by our values

1. Thriving Farms
   Farmers continue to be at the heart of all we do. As a co-op founded by a collection of farmers, we’ve always been committed to the future of farming, and we continue the hard work to keep farms thriving for generations to come.
2. Healthful Cows
   We take animal care extremely seriously, and we expect everyone we work with to practice excellent cow care. Whether a farm has 200 or 20,000 cows, our standards are rigorous, our expectations are clear and our philosophy is straightforward: healthful cows always come first.
3. Inspired Customers
   As we grow, the expectations remain the same: delicious products made the right way. That’s why we strive for a higher standard of excellence starting with the highest quality ingredients. Then we make sure every step of the process aligns with our values. The result is a perfectly melted grilled cheese that you’re proud to enjoy and inspired to share with others.
4. Enduring Ecosystems
   Reaching more people in more places means sourcing more milk. Inevitably, we’re using more natural resources as we expand our supplier and contract manufacturer networks. To protect our ecosystems, we’re thinking big and working harder than ever to improve waste reduction, water stewardship, clean energy, and fuel efficiency efforts.
5. Fulfilled Employees
   Over 100 years of dedicated employees. It takes extra-special employees to stay in business this long. We’re committed to helping them thrive by fostering a culture that is enriching and fulfilling. We put tremendous effort into creating opportunities for our employees to connect and build relationships. And we’re invested in helping them be safe and supported, on the job and off.
6. Enriched Communities
   Our work and our people are intricately connected to our communities. So it just makes sense to invest in and improve them. To strengthen communities, we’re focusing on supporting agricultural advocacy, food security, and healthful children—which are all integral to community resilience.

Farmer-Owner Shannon LourenzoTillamook represents generations handed down, and we want it to be around forever. That’s why we’ll continue to put in the hard work, be good stewards and sustain our resources.

Our story in short
Since 1909, we’ve been dedicated to making the best cheese with the best ingredients. From our beginning, we’ve treated the land, our people and animals with care & respect.

• Farmer Co-Op
  As a cooperative we’re known as the Tillamook County Creamery Association. We’re made up of a group of farmer-owners. Many of these families have been farming in Tillamook County for multiple generations and have been committed to producing delicious, high-quality dairy products for over a century. We believe dairy farming isn’t just a job, it is a way of life.
• Morning Star
  In the early days of the co-op, our farmers had butter and milk to sell—but hauling it over rough mountain roads took so long, it would spoil. The fastest route to Portland was by water, so they built Oregon’s first official ship—the Morning Star—to carry their dairy goods to market. This kind of entrepreneurial grit and ingenuity still characterizes our farmers and all of us at Tillamook today.
• Real Dairy
  When you take a bite of the foods we make, it should represent everything we stand for. That’s why we only use the highest-quality ingredients, naturally age our cheddar and even add more cream than the industry standard in our ice cream. We never use high-fructose corn syrup or add anything artificial like growth hormones, preservatives, colors or flavors. Since our founding over a century ago, the expectation remains the same: delicious products made the right way.
• Growing Responsibly
  Today you can find Tillamook products in more places than ever, being enjoyed by more people than ever. While our story began in a small community, we’re growing with purpose, on purpose. From the tools and technology we use to the strategic partnerships and materials we choose, we’re committed to growing while making sure our values are embedded in our culture, processes and everything we do.

Our History

The Tillamook Valley

1851
The first European settlers arriving in Tillamook Valley find a silver lining to the wet, cool climate. All that rain makes green, green grass, perfect for raising dairy cows.

The Morning Star

1854
Tillamook’s farmers have butter and milk to sell—but hauling it over rough mountain roads takes so long, it would spoil.

The fastest route to Portland is by water, so they build Oregon’s first official ship—the Morning Star—to carry their dairy goods to market.

Cheese King of the Coast

1894
Renowned Canadian cheesemaker Peter McIntosh brings his cheddar cheese-making expertise to Tillamook County, where he teaches the locals all he knows, earning the nickname "Cheese King of the Coast.

When It All Began

1909
Several small creameries join forces to ensure all cheese made in the Tillamook Valley will be the same high quality. Each creamery contributes $10 to start the cooperative: the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA).

Our First Slogan

1921
Tillamook is officially trademarked! Our first slogan—"Look for Tillamook on the Rind"—let folks know that the cheese wedge they brought home was genuine Tillamook quality. Running ads in Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles pays off: sales skyrocket, and demand grows.

On The Rind

1930
How did we put the name Tillamook on each and every cheese? Read this handheld stamper backward, and you’ll see. In addition to a loaf stamper, we made a flat version so you could roll a round cheese wheel over it. Every TCCA creamery had one.

Highest Quality

1931
High standards, start to finish: that’s how our cheesemakers win awards. Milk inspector Guy Ford, a former farmer, makes sure dairy farmers keep everything on the farm up to TCCA quality standards. Cheese inspector Fred Christensen visits every TCCA creamery, grading the cheese.

Making Ice Cream

1947
We start making ice cream as an experiment, selling our original ice cream brand, Tillamook Maid, around town. When the new plant opens, we swing into full-scale production. By the ’50s, you could buy Tillamook Ice Cream all around town, up into Clatsop County, and south to Lincoln County.

Fueled by Innovation

1949
The new plant features innovative ideas. The triple-deck system in cold storage lets us stack cheese higher without crushing cheese on the bottom. Carl Fenk, on the lift truck, slides a one-ton load of cheese into an empty slot.

Prize Winning

1958
When we say "Tillamook is the prize-winningest cheese," we’re not talking through our hats. By 1958, when this ad ran in West Coast papers, our cheesemakers had already taken home hundreds of awards—with hundreds more to come from state, national, and world competitions.

Tillie of Tillamook

1958
Sweet-faced Tillie of Tillamook, a little brown Jersey cow, helped us promote Tillamook Cheese for more than 50 years. She popped up in ads as our spokescow, then came to life, so to squeak, as the beloved rubber toy you see here.

Packaging Redesign

1966
Tillamook packaging is redesigned to make it easier for customers to identify genuine Tillamook Cheese. This new packaging incorporated an illustration of our historic Morning Star ship.

Go Cheesemakers

1980
A big supporter of local schools, we’ve always been proud of Tillamook youth—proud enough to feature the high school football team in a Sunset magazine ad. (Later on, when they needed to rebuild their stadium, we donated $150,000 to get the project rolling.)

Sour Cream Hits the Scene

1993
Introducing: tangy, creamy Tillamook Sour Cream made with high-quality milk, enzymes, and cream. From this day forward, baked potatoes and nachos would never be the same.

Yogurt Debuts

1994
Tillamook Yogurt makes its debut. Fruit finally gets the yummy showcase it deserves, and spoons around the world rejoice.

Second Cheese Creamery

2001
Our farmer-owners clearly see—based on the popularity of Tillamook Cheese—that we need to increase our cheesemaking capacity beyond what’s possible at this creamery.

In 2001, we open our second cheesemaking plant in Boardman, Oregon, with the same recipes, strong values, and high-quality standards. Now, employees in both of our creameries are working day and night to keep up with our fans’ appetites!

100 Years

2009
We celebrate 100 years as a farmer-owned co-op…hooray! Some of our current farmer-owners are even the great-great-great grandchildren of our pioneering founders.

Loaf Love Tour

2010
We roll out our first Loaf Love Tour, touring the country in custom, bright-orange VW buses on a mission to "Bring tasty cheese to the people!" The tour kicks off in Tucson, Arizona, traveling to more than 100 cities in nine states.

Dairy Done Right

2015
With an audacious new marketing campaign, we put our lasting commitment to quality—Dairy Done Right—in the spotlight. The bold ads take a stand, using straight talk to tell food fans about the dairy choices they make every day

Great Food Drive

2016
For the 10th year in a row, we sponsor the Great Food Drive, a fundraising campaign to support the Oregon Food Bank’s fight against hunger in our state. Over the years, we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the food bank provide meals for people in need.

Our New Creamery

2018
Welcome to our new Creamery (take a digital tour here), rebuilt in 2018 to create an even bigger and better experience for generations fans to come.

Products

• Cheese
  Made with standards, not shortcuts. We start by using rBST-free milk, then we naturally age every cheese we make. It’s the same process we’ve used for over a century.
• Ice Cream
  Our ice cream simply tastes better because it’s made better. With more cream, every bite is smooth, and dreamy.
• Yogurt
  Better culture’s just our culture. Made with rBST-free milk and fruit harvested in the Pacific Northwest, it’s the perfect balance of creamy, tangy and sweet. You won’t find any preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or artificial flavors here.
• Cream Cheese Spreads
  We think cream cheese should taste like cheese. We’re talking rich, creamy, satisfyingly smooth—with a tangy zip in every bite. You won’t find any fillers, starches, or stabilizers here. This is real taste worth spreading
• Butter
  Better butter starts with 81% fat for extra creamy flavor and superior spreadability. We’ve got everything from croissants to pie crusts to cookies covered.
• Premium Sour Cream
  Made with our highest quality rBST-free milk with more butterfat for a richer, dreamier sour cream tartness.
• Maker’s Reserve Cheese
  We’ve been making cheese masterfully for more than a century. When you start with an outstanding recipe and unusually good ingredients, the rest is easy. It just takes time. Every year, we release a new vintage of white cheddar, aged over 3 years. Take your tastebuds on a dynamic journey of each vintage of our very best aged cheddars.

TillamookWe’re a family of makers, led by farmers, who get to wake up everyday and do what we love.
At Tillamook, we remain guided by the same values and beliefs we started with in 1909. We believe quality comes above profit and that natural always beats artificial. We never cut corners—it’s just not our style. We source the highest quality ingredients to bring you products that are DOWNRIGHT DELICIOUS. We promise to do things the right way, always, because the only thing we love more than making our food, is making it for you.

https://www.tillamook.com