By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

GREENVILLE, Ill. — There is a new tourist stop for those seeking locally grown foods in Greenville – for the past year, Marcoot Jersey Creamery has been making its own cheese and visitors can come see the process and take home some for their own use.

Brook Segrest explained this is a seventh-generation farm. “Our story begins in 1840 when the Markut family sailed from Switzerland to New Orleans, taking the steam ship up the Mississippi River to the sparsely inhabited Bond-Madison County area of southern Illinois,” she said.

“The Markut name was changed back to a previous Old World spelling ‘Marcoot.’ We know for certain by that the mid-1800s our ancestors had Jersey cattle because we have dated Marcoot Jersey Farm letterhead.”

 While the Marcoots have raised dairy cattle for years, they previously also sold milk to Prairie Farms and made cheese for themselves, but then Segrest said they decided to venture out and sell their fresh product right on-site. They began selling cheese in March 2010.

This is a family affair, involving John and Linda Marcoot and their daughters and son-in-law Amy, Beth, Brittany and Josh Wheeler, and Segrest, with assistance from John’s brother and family, Roger and Anita Marcoot, Bryan and Dana Marcoot and Lyndsey and Chris Walls, as well as Linda’s brother, Dale Chapman, and John and Roger’s mother, Marian. They work together to provide all the labor for the farm and the creamery.

One of the things of which Segrest said they are proudest is that the cheese is made solely from the milk of the Marcoots’ own Registered Jersey grass-fed cattle. Using 60 milking Jersey cows, she said, “They benefit from pasturing on the paddocks of a variety of grasses to provide abundant natural nutrition. No hormones are given to the cattle. Homeopathic remedies are the first line of defense when necessary.”

The Marcoot Swiss European roots show in some of their products, such as Quark, “which is a German spreadable cheese like Philadelphia Cream Cheese. The Germans were making spreadable cheese before cream cheese was invented.” This cheese curd cheese comes in plain, garlic herb and taco flavors.

They also offer six-ounce block cheese in tomato, basil, jack and pepper jack. Specialty block cheese includes smoked gouda, havarti, gouda and baby Swiss.
There is also cave-aged cheeses of tome, alpine, cheddar and heritage.
The specialty raw milk cheeses are aged in an aging cave, modeled after the man-made cheese caves in Switzerland. Some are raw milk cheeses, which will age from a minimum of 60 days up to 12 months.

The Marcoots’ building is purposely made with viewing windows so the public can view as they make cheese and process milk. Visitors are also invited to view the calves, housed near the creamery, as the family’s goal is to create premium products and provide education to the public.

The largest customers of the Marcoots are restaurants. “We sell mainly to restaurants in the St. Louis area,” Segrest said.

One of the restaurants that uses their cheeses on a regular basis is Farmhouse Restaurant, and Chef Kevin Louis is an award-winning chef who prides himself on the use of local foods.

The creamery is located at 526 Dudleyville Road, Greenville, IL 62246. Call 618-664-1110 with questions. It is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from noon-4 p.m. It is also online at www.marcootjersey creamery.com