Maytag Dairy Farms

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Maytag Dairy Farms logo

View of the Maytag Dairy Farms from the visitor center

Maytag Dairy Farms is a manufacturer of blue cheese and other cheeses based in Newton, Iowa. It was established in 1941 by Frederick Louis Maytag II.

History[]

Maytag Dairy Farms was established in 1941 by Frederick Louis Maytag 11 who purchased a single cow to provide milk for his family.^[1] E.H. Maytag soon began to develop a small herd of Holstein-Friesian cows that would supply milk to his community, winning a vast number of blue ribbons at livestock shows across the United States. The offspring from his herd began to attract buyers from around the world.

Upon E.H.’s death in 1940, his sons Fred and Robert Maytag assumed leadership of the farms.^[2] It was Fred Maytag-President & CEO of the Maytag Appliance Company who pursued his idea of creating a uniquely American blue cheese made from cow's milk. Fred collaborated with Iowa State University dairy researchers to pioneer the first great American blue cheese that would compete with classic European cheeses such as Roquefort made from sheep's milk. The cheese plant and caves were completed a year later and the first wheels of Maytag Blue Cheese were formed in October 1941. The milk from Maytag's Iowa Holsteins resulted in a rich, creamy cheese that resembled the flavors of European bleu cheeses. Ever a visionary, Fred sold his cheese in a unique new way—by catalog—essentially creating the practice of mail-ordering food that thrives today.

Fred's son Fritz Maytag assumed leadership in 1962 and led the small company for the next 50 years. During these five decades, Fritz saved from bankruptcy and imminent closure San Francisco's Anchors Cha Brewing Company and America's craft brewing movement. In the early 1980s, Fritz collaborated with his friend Peter Kump to buy James Beard's Greenwich Village townhouse and preserve it as a center for America's burgeoning culinary arts. In 2003, Fritz was awarded the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional^[3] and in 2008 won the James Beard Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement.^[4] Fritz now serves airman Emeritus and a director, along with his brother Ken Maytag and sister Martha Maytag.

Present day[]

The cheese is made by hand in the small cheese plant that was constructed 80 years ago in the shadow of E.H.’s milking barn. The prize-winning herd is gone, but the barn remains and the company uses fresh milk from neighbor dairy farmers. The hand-formed wheels are aged for approximately six months. Maytag Dairy Farms is now owned by , a private equity fund manager, since January 2019.

^[5]

See also[]

• List of dairy product companies in the United States

References[]

External links[]

• Maytag Dairy Farms
• Little Big Cheese: Maytag's Growing Niche Market, story on NPR (January 4, 2005)