Tillamook Is Selling 40-Pound Blocks of Cheddar Cheese Online

Last month, Wisconsin Cheese gave us a savory way for cheeseheads to say "I love you" this Valentine's Day with a heart-shaped box full of cheese. Now, Oregon's Tillamook County Creamery Association (a popular tourist destination in its own right) is upping the ante with a literally bigger idea: On February 13, cheese fans can prove how much they love themselves by ordering a 40-pound block of Tillamook Sharp Yellow Cheddar.

Okay, technically, Tillamook's massive cheese drop is tied to National Cheddar Day on February 13—but isn't any day a good excuse for cheese? (Tillamook should know: They're the ones who created National Cheddar Day back in 2019, bless them.)

As Tillamook explains, 40-pounds is far from a random number: Tillamook Cheddar is actually aged in these 40-pound blocks, known as a "Mother Loaf," for anywhere from 60 days to 10 years. From there, the block is broken down into the smaller blocks and products like shredded cheese and cheese snacks that you see on store shelves. Adding to the intrigue, Tillamook says that, even though working with 40-pound blocks is a "time-honored brand recipe," the brand has never sold these blocks directly to the public before.

The cheese blocks are arriving as the top-billed item in the limited-edition Cheddar Capsule collection being used to launch Tillamook's new online shop. And listen up: Just 25 of these Mother Loafs will be available for $112 when the shop first digitally opens on Saturday, February 13 at 8 a.m. Pacific Time. So get ready to slam that refresh button.

Meanwhile, if $112 is over your daily cheese budget, don't fret: The Capsule includes plenty of other cheese-themed items at lower price points including a Cheddar Tie-Dye Sweatshirt ($50), Cheddar Tie-Dye Sweatpants ($55), Cheddar Tie-Dye Long Sleeve T-shirt ($40), Cheddar Lounge Shorts ($38), Baby Loaf Bag ($40), Squeaky Curds Dog Toy ($20), Medium Cheddar Nail Polish ($12), Baby Loaf Trio ($60), Curd Lovers Bundle ($48), and Maker's Reserve 2010 Extra Sharp White Cheddar ($23).

And though the Cheddar Capsule collection will only be around for a limited time, the online shop will remain open permanently. "We've heard time and again from our fans across the country that they wanted access to their favorite and harder-to-find Tillamook cheese products at the touch of a button," Sue Kapllani, Tillamook County Creamery Association's VP of marketing, said in the announcement. "Our goal with our new online shop is to give our biggest fans exactly that and then some, in hopes that we can help make staying safe at home a little bit cozier and a whole lot cheesier."

That said, if they really wanted to make our lives a whole lot cheesier, they'd offer 40-pound blocks of cheese all year long. But hey, I guess National Cheddar Day only comes around once a year. Frankly, I'm not sure. Unfortunately, it's not listed on my calendar.