Cheesemaking, Knowledge and Authority: Reconstructing Work Practices of Women on Early Modern Dutch Dairy Farms

Maroesjka Verhagen; Danielle van den Heuvel

doi:10.4324/9781003695820-8

Cheesemaking, Knowledge and Authority: Reconstructing Work Practices of Women on Early Modern Dutch Dairy Farms

Maroesjka Verhagen
, Danielle van den Heuvel

OGKG - Economic and Social History

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The iconic Dutch cheese is inextricably linked to the success and wonder of the Dutch Republic in the early modern period. Dairy farms were crucial for the economic growth and prosperity of the country, and cheese production had a significant influence on its renowned culture of cleanliness. Strikingly, despite their essential role in the production of cheese, the largely female producers and their knowledge, skills, and responsibilities have mostly stayed out of sight of historians. This chapter employs innovative methods to bring them back centre-stage and illuminates the expertise and authority of the female farmers on the early modern Dutch dairy farms. It combines textual and visual analyses with historical reconstruction to reveal, for the first time, the work practices of the numerous women behind the Dutch cheese.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Food Production and Gender across the Early Modern World
Editors	Melissa Calaresu, Marta Manzanares Mileo
Publisher	Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Pages	123-147
Number of pages	25
ISBN (Electronic)	9781003695820
ISBN (Print)	9789048559411
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003695820-8
Publication status	Published - 15 Jun 2026

Publication series

Name	Food Culture, Food History before 1900

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 selection and editorial matter, Melissa Calaresu and Marta Manzanares Mileo; individual chapters, the contributors.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

Access to Document

10.4324/9781003695820-8

Cite this

Verhagen, M., & van den Heuvel, D. (2026). Cheesemaking, Knowledge and Authority: Reconstructing Work Practices of Women on Early Modern Dutch Dairy Farms. In M. Calaresu, & M. Manzanares Mileo (Eds.), Food Production and Gender across the Early Modern World (pp. 123-147). (Food Culture, Food History before 1900). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003695820-8

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Verhagen, M & van den Heuvel, D 2026, Cheesemaking, Knowledge and Authority: Reconstructing Work Practices of Women on Early Modern Dutch Dairy Farms. in M Calaresu & M Manzanares Mileo (eds), Food Production and Gender across the Early Modern World. Food Culture, Food History before 1900, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, pp. 123-147. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003695820-8

Cheesemaking, Knowledge and Authority: Reconstructing Work Practices of Women on Early Modern Dutch Dairy Farms. / Verhagen, Maroesjka; van den Heuvel, Danielle.
Food Production and Gender across the Early Modern World. ed. / Melissa Calaresu; Marta Manzanares Mileo. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2026. p. 123-147 (Food Culture, Food History before 1900).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

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Cheesemaking, Knowledge and Authority: Reconstructing Work Practices of Women on Early Modern Dutch Dairy Farms

Abstract

Publication series

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

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Cite this