Nine-hundred-pound Pickles is as cute and friendly as a puppy. The 5-year-old Jersey cow is the mascot of Naked Cow Dairy Farm & Creamery, the only dairy on Oahu and one of just three in Hawaii (the other two are on Hawaii island).
"We’ve had challenges breeding Pickles, but she is so tame and dear to us, we keep her for promotions and public relations," said Monique Van der Stroom, Naked Cow’s owner, founder and manager. "A few years ago, she appeared at a lunch for Hyatt hotel general managers from Hawaii and the mainland at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and rode up to the dining room in an elevator! Pickles has also been a guest at restaurants and libraries to help us educate people about cows, dairies and the delicious products that come from them."
Van der Stroom studied dairy science at the University of Arizona in Tucson and completed a summer internship in Holland at her Dutch relatives’ 50-cow farm. She has been in the dairy industry for 28 years, the past 22 in Hawaii.
In 2008 she started Naked Cow after overseeing the closure of Pacific Dairy, where she had worked for 11 years. Today, her 12-acre farm in Waianae produces gourmet butters and artisan cheeses incorporating ingredients such as garlic herb, toasted coconut and Hawaii island honey.
The new Everybody Loves Butter line includes brownie, curry and passion guava products. Among the seasonal butter flavors are lilikoi, pesto, cranberry orange, apple cinnamon and Kona coffee.
Explaining the dairy’s name, Van der Stroom said, "It means natural, the way small family dairies were run in the past. Cows had names, not numbers, back then, and antibiotics and growth hormones were not used. We follow the organic guidelines; we don’t give our cows any antibiotics or hormones and we don’t use any additives or preservatives in our products."
Quality dairy products begin with healthy cows. To that end, Naked Cow’s herd eats grass, pineapple, kiawe beans, sugar cane molasses, macadamia and kukui nut byproducts, and other locally grown non-GMO types of feed. Doing that, Van der Stroom said, lowers the dairy’s fuel consumption, reduces its carbon hoofprint and supports a sustainable island-based feeding system.
All the cows have names and detailed records, including their parents, date of birth, calves and milk production. That’s among the interesting tidbits that are shared on tours of the dairy, which launched a year ago. Busy as she is, Van der Stroom leads most of them.
"I enjoy taking visitors around and teaching them about animal husbandry," she said. "In addition to cows, we have goats, horses and about 60 free-range chickens that are multi-breeds, so they lay eggs with colorful shells — peach, brown, light blue and light green. We call our chicken operation Waianae Rainbow Eggs."
Naked Cow’s two types of yogurt, 12 kinds of butter and 13 types of cheese are all made on site. Van der Stroom is the chief butter maker and her sister, Sabrina St. Martin, is in charge of cheese making.
Roy’s, Alan Wong’s, Monkeypod Kitchen, 12th Ave Grill, 53 by the Sea, and Tiki’s Bar and Grill are among the Oahu restaurants that use Naked Cow products. Consumers can buy them at Safeway, Whole Foods, Kokua Market and R. Field Wine Company at Foodland.
"I think people are interested in learning where their food comes from, and what better way to do that than to see cows being milked and taste the cheese and butter made from that milk," Van der Stroom said. "Our goal is to revive the concept of the small family dairy. There were once a lot of them in Waianae. Being the only one here now, we’re proud and happy to keep that bit of Hawaii’s history alive."
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.
VISITING NAKED COW DAIRY
Two-hour tours are available daily except Sunday by reservation at least one week in advance. The production class lasts four to six hours and must be booked one month ahead. Ask about customized tours. Email for more information or to book a tour.
BASIC
This tour is reserved for schools, home-school groups and children’s organizations. It includes strolling through the chicken yard, feeding cows, caring for horses and milking demonstrations, and tasting cheese and butter. Educational games and a coloring contest are planned for younger kids. Older students receive more information (e.g., about feed, breeding and artificial insemination) and take part in a question-and-answer session. $7 for children 2 through 17 (keiki under 2 are free) and $10 for adults. Minimum of 15 people; maximum of 60.
EXTRA
It includes the basic tour plus hand-milking a cow and a sit-down cheese tasting. $15 for children and $20 for adults. Minimum of 10 people; maximum of 20.
PRIVATE
Available either 9 to 11 a.m. or 5 to 7 p.m., this is the extra tour with brunch in the morning or a light supper or sunset wine-and-cheese tasting in the evening (wine will be served only to those aged 21 and older). $50 per person (free for kids under 2 years). Minimum of four people; maximum of 15.
PRODUCTION CLASS
Learn how to make cheese or butter and take home some of it. It includes brunch and wine-and-cheese tasting. Participants stay in the creamery; they don’t tour the rest of the farm. $150 per person aged 21 and older. Minimum of two people; maximum of five.
