Gilboa dairy dips into new opportunity with creamery

GILBOA — Every cloud has a silver lining. Just ask the Knueven family. When the world was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, the family had to find new ways to sell dairy goods to the public. That ultimately led to opening the Knueven Creamery and Market on Gilboa's Main Street, where hungry visitors can now stop by for milk, creams, cheeses, butter and scoops of ice cream. "It's interesting because there have been trials, and we've had to think outside of the box," said store manager Laurie Knueven. "So I think probably one of the coolest things is how we're all sort of working together now to get out of some of those hard times." Laurie and her siblings — Scott, Nate, Kevin and Keith Knueven and Jennifer Proctor — come from a farming family. Their great-grandparents, Edward and Philomena Knueven, started a dairy farm near Gilboa. Grandparents Leonard and Stella Knueven and parents Chuck and Kathy Knueven continued the tradition. "Dad had the dairy in the '70s and then when times got tough, they went to tomatoes and pickles," said Scott Knueven. "Actually, the dairy barn now is the old pickle station." The fourth generation of the Knueven family restarted the business in 2002, producing natural milk from cows pastured on certified organic land. They initially sold milk, cream and butter at the farm's state-licensed creamery. "When we first started, we would go up to the Toledo Farmers' Market and then we had some businesses as well, but it was strictly milk," said Laurie, nothing that they went to the Clintonville and Perrysburg Farmers' Markets as well. In early 2020, the family was able to launch their online market with free delivery to "bring back the milkman (or milk person)," when the pandemic hit, they said. At the same time, some grocery stores also needed milk because their suppliers were depleted, and they were able to fill a need. "So in this area, we kind of blossomed a little bit," said Laurie. "With everything we do, we sort of outgrew what we have at the farm." What's the scoop? When the building at 207 Main St. in Gilboa became available, the siblings decided it was time to expand. They now make the ice cream on-site, which also gives customers an opportunity to stop in for a dip or two. "That's what we were missing, was the hand-dipped ice cream," said Laurie. "We were selling it in pints and quarts, but the dipping has been really popular." There are usually a minimum of 10 flavors in the cabinet, with offerings like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, blackberry swirl, maple pecan and cold brew. Earlier this summer, rhubarb crumble was a popular option. "Our products, we try to be as natural as possible," said Laurie. "We try to keep the milk as whole as possible. We're not taking the fat out of it. Our whole milk is like what the cows give us. We do what we need to do, but we leave it alone. So the cream does rise to the top. Just like in the old days, you shake it up. It's good, and we use that in our ice cream as well." Knueven Creamery ice cream contains 18% cream, according to Scott, compared to ice cream sold in grocery stores which typically contains 12% to 14%. "It's all good stuff and it's simple ingredients," said Laurie. "The ice cream is milk, cream, organic raw cane sugar, and then we used a vanilla or a cocoa for the base. Then we go from there." They use local ingredients whenever possible, like blackberries from Pandora Blackberry, strawberries from Suter's in Pandora and lavender from Schooner Farms of Weston. Scott said they currently have 45 cows that provide all of the milk for their products, and they grow wheat, corn and soybeans on the 120-acre farm, which is certified organic and non-GMO. "We don't push the cows, but we're averaging about 30 pounds a cow a day, which comes out to almost 4 gallons a cow," he said. "Some have a creamier content than the others. Jerseys will be creamier, less milk product. Holsteins will be less creamy, but more milk." Say cheese In addition to working at the farm, Scott also makes cheese — a craft he learned during the pandemic from Del Burkholder with Turkeyfoot Creamery in Wauseon. Scott currently supplies Gouda, cheddar and fresh mozzarella for the business "Mozzarella cheese, that one is very picky. I call it a tedious cheese, because you've got to do it almost perfect to get it," he said. Next, he'd like to try Brie. Yogurt is also on his bucket list. One of Laurie's favorite jobs is helping dream up new ice cream flavors. She's currently perfecting a cherry goat cheese ice cream, and when fall comes, they'll transition to flavors that use pumpkin and apple. "We do trial and error back there as well," she said. "'Is this going to work? Isn't this going to work?' And right now we're having fun with some sundaes." They both said it feels good to be working alongside their siblings in the family business. "For us to just kind of come together as a family has been probably the biggest blessing," said Laurie. "So while I do think of the past and what Grandpa had built, it's almost like what we're doing now and together, we're going back to those times. People say you're moving forward, but I was like technically, we're doing it more like what our grandparents did." Summer hours for Knueven Creamery and Market are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Wolf: 419-427-8419