The Ultimate Cheesemonger's Selling Guide: Swiss by Beemster

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of Swiss by Beemster, an exceptional Alpine-style cheese from Holland. It is designed to equip the retail cheesemonger with the knowledge, language, and stories needed to confidently and enthusiastically sell this cheese to a wide range of customers, from the curious novice to the seasoned connoisseur.

The Quick Pitch

This section provides immediate, high-impact language to engage a customer quickly and effectively.

Elevator Pitch

This is a fantastic Dutch take on a classic Swiss cheese, made with incredibly rich milk from free-range cows grazing on historic, nutrient-dense pastures. It’s wonderfully mild and nutty with a creamy, buttery texture that makes it an amazing melter and a real crowd-pleaser on any cheese board. This cheese offers the familiar comfort of a Swiss with the premium quality and unique story of a renowned Dutch cheesemaker.

Key Selling Points

  • Deliciously Approachable: A perfect balance of mild, nutty sweetness with a hint of tang and fruit—a flavor everyone from kids to connoisseurs will enjoy. Its mellow character makes it a safe and delicious choice for any palate.1
  • The Ultimate Melter: Its incredibly creamy and buttery texture makes it the star of the show in fondue, gourmet grilled cheese, Reubens, and the best mac-and-cheese you've ever had. This culinary versatility is a major selling point for customers looking for a practical yet premium cheese.2
  • Unforgettable Creaminess from Holland's Best Milk: Made by a 100-year-old Dutch co-op using milk from cows that graze on the lush, mineral-rich pastures of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Customers can taste the quality of this superior milk in every bite.4

"If you like X, you'll love this"

If you enjoy a classic, mild Emmental, a young Gruyère, or other Dutch cheeses like Maasdam, you will absolutely love the creamy richness and subtle complexity of Beemster's version.5

The name "Swiss by Beemster" itself is a powerful sales tool. It leverages a customer's existing familiarity with "Swiss cheese"—a style known for its holes, nutty flavor, and great performance in sandwiches—as a comfortable entry point.7 The "by Beemster" then acts as a stamp of quality, introducing a narrative of artisanal Dutch craftsmanship and superior ingredients. This positioning transforms a potential point of confusion ("Why is a Dutch cheese called Swiss?") into a compelling story ("It's the Swiss style you love, but made even better with this incredible Dutch milk and craftsmanship."). It presents the cheese as the best of both worlds: familiar and accessible, yet elevated and unique.

Tasting & Sensory Profile

This section provides a rich, evocative vocabulary to describe the cheese's appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture, allowing the cheesemonger to paint a vivid picture for the customer.

Appearance

This is a beautiful, rindless cheese, typically sold in a block format.8 The paste has a smooth, uniform, pale straw or buttery yellow color. It is dotted with the iconic, well-developed, round-to-oval "eyes" that are the hallmark of a classic Swiss-style cheese.1 The presence of these uniform and well-distributed eyes, which are formed as bubbles of carbon dioxide burst during ripening, indicates a perfect, carefully controlled aging process. This visual characteristic aligns with the criteria for high-grade Swiss cheese as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which specifies that top-quality Swiss should possess "well-developed round or slightly oval-shaped eyes which are relatively uniform in size and distribution".8 This allows a cheesemonger to point to the cheese's appearance as an objective marker of its high quality.

Aroma

The aroma is clean, mild, and inviting. While subtle, it carries notes of toasted nuts, fresh sweet cream, and a faint hint of orchard fruit, like apples or pears. The scent directly reflects the rich sweetness of the unique Beemster milk from which it is made.1

Flavor Profile

The flavor is beautifully balanced and approachable, consistently described as "mild, tangy and nutty with fruity notes" across numerous platforms.1 It opens with a gentle, savory nuttiness, like toasted almonds, followed by a mild, pleasant tanginess that brightens the palate without being sharp. The finish is clean and smooth, leaving a lingering hint of sweet cream and a subtle fruity note, reminiscent of fresh pears.3

Texture & Mouthfeel

In the mouth, the cheese is semi-firm yet pliable and wonderfully smooth.1 It has a distinctly rich, buttery quality that coats the palate, melting into a luscious, creamy finish without any graininess or crumble.3 This luxurious mouthfeel is a direct result of the high-quality, high-fat milk from the Beemster Polder and is the key to its exceptional melting capabilities.

The Story & Interesting Facts

This narrative transforms the cheese from a product into an experience, justifying its premium positioning and creating a memorable connection with the customer.

  • A UNESCO World Heritage Treasure: This cheese comes from a truly unique place—the Beemster Polder in Holland, a masterpiece of 17th-century land reclamation where Dutch engineers used windmills to drain a coastal lagoon.4 This entire area is so historically and culturally significant for its innovative design that it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.4 The cheese isn't just from a farm; it's from a piece of living history.
  • The Magic of the "Blue Sea Clay": The polder was once a coastal lagoon, and its slate-blue clay soil is incredibly rich in minerals from the sea.10 This unique soil grows a special kind of grass that is sweeter and more nutritious than anywhere else. This concept of
    terroir—the taste of the land, more commonly associated with fine wine—is the secret to Beemster's uniquely rich, sweet, and creamy milk. The distinct flavor profile of the cheese can be traced directly back to this 400-year-old pasture, a story that elevates the product beyond a simple dairy item into an artisanal food with a clear sense of place.11
  • A Farmer-Owned Tradition of Quality: The Beemster co-op was founded in 1901 by a group of dairy farmers dedicated to protecting their land and producing the highest quality cheese.4 This tradition continues today, with master cheesemakers using time-tested, artisanal methods like hand-stirring the curds and aging the wheels on natural wooden boards in historic stone warehouses.4
  • Fit for Royalty: The quality of Beemster cheese is so exceptional that in 2001, the co-op was granted the prestigious title of "Supplier to the Royal Court of the Netherlands," the highest honor for an artisan in the country.4 This royal warrant serves as a powerful endorsement of the cheese's superior quality and heritage.

Pairings & Culinary Uses

This section provides customers with concrete, exciting ideas for how to enjoy the cheese, increasing the likelihood of purchase and enhancing their overall experience.

Perfect Food Pairings

  • Sweet: Crisp apple and pear slices, juicy grapes, fig jam, or dried apricots.1
  • Savory: Thinly sliced prosciutto or Black Forest ham, toasted walnuts or Marcona almonds, cornichons, and a dollop of whole-grain mustard.3
  • Carrier: Hearty rye crisps, slices of rustic sourdough, or whole-grain crackers.15

Beverage Pairings

  • Wine: A crisp and floral white like a dry Riesling, Pinot Gris, or Gewürztraminer; a light-bodied red like Beaujolais or Cabernet Franc; or a celebratory glass of Champagne or Prosecco.1
  • Beer: A crisp German-style Lager or a Belgian-style Blonde Ale. For a richer pairing, try a malty Bock or a Brown Ale, whose toasty notes complement the cheese's nuttiness.1
  • Other: A classic Old Fashioned cocktail, where the whiskey complements the nutty notes of the cheese, or a dry apple cider for a refreshing contrast.20

In the Kitchen

This is a true kitchen workhorse, celebrated for its meltability.

  • The Ultimate Melter: Create a legendary fondue, a gourmet mac-and-cheese, or the perfect Reuben sandwich. Its smooth, buttery texture ensures a silky, lump-free melt every time.2
  • Gourmet Sandwiches: It makes an incredible grilled cheese. The repeated and specific recommendation to try it with kimchi is a deliberate suggestion from Beemster to position this traditional-style cheese within a modern, foodie context.1 This "pro tip" demonstrates the cheese's versatility and appeals to customers seeking new flavor combinations. It is also fantastic sliced on a turkey or ham sandwich.
  • The Perfect Topper: Grate it over French onion soup or a potato gratin for a beautifully browned, bubbly crust.

Cheesemonger Quick Guide

This is a final, at-a-glance toolkit for the cheesemonger to use in the moment of a sale.

Evocative Words

Buttery, Creamy, Nutty, Mellow, Smooth, Versatile, Crowd-pleasing, Approachable, Luscious, Sweet.

Sample Phrases to Use with Customers

The most effective sales phrases seamlessly weave together the three core pillars of this cheese: its familiar style, its superior sensory experience, and its unique story.

  • To introduce: "Here’s a really special cheese from Holland. It's a Swiss-style cheese from Beemster, a Royal-appointed cheesemaker, and the milk comes from cows grazing in a UNESCO World Heritage site."
  • To describe flavor: "You'll notice it has a wonderful buttery texture and a mild, nutty flavor with just a hint of fruity sweetness. It’s incredibly smooth and not sharp at all."
  • To suggest a use: "This would be incredible for a classic cheese fondue, but my favorite way to use it is for a gourmet grilled cheese—it melts beautifully."

Works cited

  1. Swiss — Beemster Cheese, accessed September 5, 2025, https://beemstercheese.us/products/swiss
  2. Swiss - Lunds & Byerlys, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.lundsandbyerlys.com/categories/cheese-artisan/swiss-id-134
  3. Beemster Swiss Cheese - Gourmet Foods International, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.gfifoods.com/156390-beemster-beemster-swiss-cheese-156390
  4. Meet Beemster — Beemster Cheese, accessed September 5, 2025, https://beemstercheese.us/get-to-know-beemster
  5. The 10 best Dutch cheeses to try in Amsterdam by a Dutch resident - Wanderlustingk, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.wanderlustingk.com/travel-blog/dutch-cheeses
  6. Gouda To Beemster, 7 Dutch Cheese Varieties To Indulge In - Slurrp, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.slurrp.com/article/gouda-to-beemster-7-dutch-cheese-varieties-to-indulge-in-1686558569180
  7. Learn About Beemster Swiss - AnyCheese, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.anycheese.com/cheeses/beemster/swiss/
  8. Swiss Cheese, Emmentaler Cheese Grades and Standards - Agricultural Marketing Service, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/swiss-cheese-emmentaler-cheese-grades-and-standards
  9. Order Beemster Swiss | Fast Delivery - Fresh Direct, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.freshdirect.com/dai/dai_chees/dai_chees_blue/sc/dai_chees_blk_other/p/del_pid_3204610
  10. Beemster Cheese Heritage, accessed September 5, 2025, https://beemstercheese.com.au/beemster-cheese-heritage/
  11. The Beemster Cheese Family - Marcella The Cheesemonger ACS CCP, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.marcellathecheesemonger.com/2009/02/26/the-beemster-cheese-family/
  12. From the Ground Up - Beemster Cheese, accessed September 5, 2025, https://beemstercheese.us/blog/from-the-ground-up
  13. Beemster cheese - Wikipedia, accessed September 5, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beemster_cheese
  14. Get To Know Beemster, accessed September 5, 2025, https://beemstercheese.com.au/get-know-beemster/
  15. Swiss Cheese: The Hole Story of How to Appreciate its Flavors and Pairings, accessed September 5, 2025, https://foodwineandflavor.com/Categories/food/cheese-tastings/swiss-cheese/
  16. That Cheese Plate + Le Gruyère AOP - Plating + Pairing, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.thatcheeseplate.com/blog/le-gruyere-plating
  17. What Goes with Swiss Cheese? - KimEcopak, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.kimecopak.ca/blogs/cuisine/what-goes-with-swiss-cheese
  18. Beemster Swiss - CheeseDelicatessen.com, accessed September 5, 2025, https://cheesedelicatessen.com/beemster-swiss/
  19. Dynamic Duos: Alpine Cheese and Beer Pairings - Nugget Markets Daily Dish, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.nuggetmarket.com/articles/1564/dynamic-duos-alpine-cheese-and-beer-pairings/
  20. The Cheese Lover's Guide To Swiss Cheese, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.wisconsincheese.com/the-cheese-life/article/121/swiss-cheese
  21. How To Pair Cocktails And Cheese, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.wisconsincheese.com/the-cheese-life/article/97/cocktails-and-cheese
  22. Beemster Swiss Cheese - Lunds & Byerlys, accessed September 5, 2025, https://www.lundsandbyerlys.com/product/beemster-swiss-cheese-id-00859354004581