About Us
We are a farmer couple who produces cheese from milk produced by our cows in our own dairy farm.
We are Pär and Johanna Hellström and we first started out farming on Johanna’s home farm in a village called Tarsmyran in the 1980’s. We were in our twenties at the time and there were only 19 milk cows on the farm. We were set on staying there, but a lot happened in the world causing our farm to become too limited for a family to live off. We looked around and found new possibilities.
In 1999 we moved along with our children and cows to Södra Svedjan at the Storkågeträsket lake.
Here we were able to keep around 40 cows and additional replacement animals. Our goal was to produce milk of the highest quality and deliver it to Norrmejerier. It worked out well for a couple of years. But… the world around us doesn’t stop spinning and it was time once again to take some new steps towards securing the survival of the farm. How could we best make use of all the resources we’d worked out through the years? Or were we going to leave the farm and start over with something completely new?
That’s when the idea of refinement was raised and we reached out to Eldrimner, the national resources centre for artisan food. We quickly felt like this could be something for us. To be able to continue working with our beloved raw products felt right. We also saw the possibilities to have an outlet for our creativity and our interest in all kinds of cultures. Then followed an exciting time of educational journeys and training. In 2010 we started building a small dairy accommodated within an old barn in the village.
In 1999 we moved along with our children and cows to Södra Svedjan at the Storkågeträsket lake.
Here we were able to keep around 40 cows and additional replacement animals. Our goal was to produce milk of the highest quality and deliver it to Norrmejerier. It worked out well for a couple of years. But… the world around us doesn’t stop spinning and it was time once again to take some new steps towards securing the survival of the farm. How could we best make use of all the resources we’d worked out through the years? Or were we going to leave the farm and start over with something completely new?
That’s when the idea of refinement was raised and we reached out to Eldrimner, the national resources centre for artisan food. We quickly felt like this could be something for us. To be able to continue working with our beloved raw products felt right. We also saw the possibilities to have an outlet for our creativity and our interest in all kinds of cultures. Then followed an exciting time of educational journeys and training. In 2010 we started building a small dairy accommodated within an old barn in the village.
On an educational trip to France we arrived at a dairy farm where they treasured the old view on farming and also utilized older buildings in the business. It left an impression on us.
The sentiment of the French countryside felt so right – there. That’s why we renovated the old barn containing our dairy operation in a way that preserves its outward look of Swedish countryside, while the inside is very modern and suitable for its purposes.
This is where we now take care of the milk and follow as it transforms into cheese. It’s an extraordinary feeling! Through the dairy farm we have an outlet for our longing to create something that conveys heart, pain and everything else that’s part of the striving and beauty of life on a farm in the northern woodlands.
Products
Svedjan Gårdsost
Svedjan Gårdost is a hard cheese with small holes and a blooming surface, meaning that the different kinds of molds that exist in the storage are allowed to develop naturally and we take care of the surface as we see fit. It creates a natural rind which protects the cheese and also contributes to the formation of taste during the cheese maturation. We like to let this cheese age for a year or longer. Cheese is truly a product of nature and that’s why the table of contents is short: raw milk, starter, rennet and sea salt.
Svedjan Rustik
During the winter of 2013 we experimented with several kinds of blue cheese. That’s also when the cheese, that was initially called Svedjan Blåbrie, came to be. It was liked at the food market Kulinarisk Sydfyn in Denmark, where it was awarded a silver diploma. That was when we realized it was here to stay. It is reminiscent of an aspen stump… the exterior is a brushed moldy surface.
Svedjan Löpeld
A cheese that’s nice to fry and grill. Can be used as an entrée, main course or a lovely dessert.
Kågedalen
A semi-hard cheese.
Tarsmyran
Aged, hard cheese inspired by southern Europe.