New Zealand is blessed with farmhouse goats milk cheesemakers

Last week on my long drive home from the New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards in Auckland, I visited two farmhouse cheesemakers.  I met them both at the cheese awards gala dinner, where I was lucky enough to sit at a table with not one but two champion cheesemakers.

First I dropped in at Crescent Dairy Goats in Kumeu just north of Auckland, where I tasted through the range of cheeses produced by Jan Walter from her small herd of goats.  Jan's Flat White had won Champion Original Cheese just days earlier.  In fact, she has won medals every year since  first entering in 2000.

The little farm shop and a local customer at Crescent Dairy Goats

And as I drove further south, I dropped into Jean and John van Kuyk who run Aroha Organic Goat Cheese near Te Aroha in the Waikato region.  This year Jean won Champion Cheesemaker for the highest scoring cheese in the competition (100/100 !) for her Raw Milk Rich Plain cheese.  This medium-hard cheese is New Zealand's first approved raw milk cheese, and the care, attention and procedures required to achieve that status shows through in the cheese.  When I dropped in on Jean and John they were entertaining some Dutch friends but rather than turn me away they invited me (and another couple of keen cheesemakers travelling home from the awards) to join them for tea and cake and a lively discussion in the afternoon sun.  When afternoon milking time approached, we walked down the farm to fetch the small herd of goats.  The "girls" were very friendly and made sure they got a good neck rub.

So my conclusion is that New Zealand is blessed with farmhouse cheesemakers who really care for their goats, think about what farming processes they are using, and are passionate cheesemakers.  In addition to the two above, I have previously visited Kaikoura Artisan Cheese (Canterbury) and Lonely Goat (Wanganui) - and these are no different.  I'm sure there must be more out there too.  This is fantastic, but it doesn't make it any easier for someone like myself who is trying to set up a cheese shop - somehow I have to choose between some of these cheeses!

Following the goats to the milking shed at Aroha Organic Goat Cheese

Looking forward to NZ Champions of Cheese Awards

Well it's that time of the year again.  Sandi and I are just about to head up to Auckland to attend the NZ Champion of Cheese Awards.  I'm looking forward to discovering some new cheeses and cheese makers as well as catching up with our existing network.  I'm particularly looking forward to seeing the Cuisine magazine Artisan Awards winners at the Cheesefest on Wednesday.  

#42 - Whitestone Probiotic Camembert

Probiotic cheese is an interesting concept.  First there are people who debate whether the beneficial probiotic cultures actually survive in cheese.  Actually, Fonterra developed and launched a healthy cheese that contained a probiotic culture quite a few years ago (it was called Mainland Inner Balance) and research showed that the probiotic culture was still present in high enough numbers to be labelled as such.  The product did not last on the market, I think it was also lower in fat and did not have great flavour.

I wander what is wrong with eating yoghurt or Yakult or similar to get your probiotic fix?  I'm not sure what value it adds to cheese if the culture doesn't have any extra ripening benefits e.g. flavour.   Anyway, enough of my observations, as Whitestone Cheese has had their probiotic camembert on the market for a few years now and it seems to be doing OK.  So when I saw some on special in the supermarket the other day, I thought I better try some.

The product looks great in its packaging.  It is nice to see a New Zealand company that has invested in decent packaging to keep its cheeses in a good environment, as well as presenting them attractively to the consumer.  The packaging is not wrapped tightly around the cheese like other supermarket camemberts, and I think the white mould rind looks better for it.  The packaging will also keep more moisture in, which also differentiates the product from the often hockey puck hard camembert found in NZ supermarkets.

The rind looks good with some darker areas of rind showing, not like the perfect white like many kiwis seem to expect.  I could even still see some depressions in the rind from where the cheese had been maturing on wire racks.

Looks pretty good compared to other supermarket camemberts in NZ!

The texture was moist, soft and smooth but not runny - what a perfect stabilised Camembert should be.  The flavour was creamy, but fairly plain.  There was nothing wrong with it, there just wasn't much to be excited about either.  On the whole, a pretty good supermarket camembert I thought.  And then...

The next day.

When I went back to the fridge the next day to have some more.... I found a very brown and unappealing cheese.  I can only attribute this to some sort of reaction with oxygen, as the brown was also under the rind as well as on the cut surfaces of the cheese.  I am guessing the package was filled with a 'modified atmosphere' and there has been some sort of browning reaction involving sugars from fermentation in the cheese which has been exposed' once the package was opened.  Whatever the case, I hope this was an unusual occurrence, and not one that consumers regularly see when they purchase this cheese!  

#41 - Chevre "Te Ma" from Kaikoura Artisan Cheese

Since arriving back in New Zealand almost a year ago, I have been on the lookout for some good chevre/fresh goats milk cheese.  We loved all the different fresh goat milk lactic cheeses that we worked with at Neal's Yard Dairy, and chevres that we tried in France.  It seems that there are a few around in New Zealand, but they are easier to get hold of if you live nearby.  Unfortunately for us in Palmerston North there is nothing local (until I get our shop up and running), so I've had to keep searching.

Kaikoura Artisan Cheese Company have recently launched a Chevre Fermier called "Te Ma".  When I previously wrote about Daniel & Sarah at Kaikoura, they were still developing their herd of Saanen dairy goats ready for milking.  Well a few months ago they started making Te Ma, and I was lucky enough to get a sample.

By the way, apologies for not using the correct Maori punctuation - Blogger does not have this option.  Anyway, in Maori "ma" means "be white, clean" etc and this is certainly apt for this cheese.

It had a clean aroma, with a slightly cultured, acidic note much like you expect from cream cheese.  The texture was soft and moist.  There was a little crumble from the acid in the curd, but this was more than balanced out by the moistness which gave a creamy texture.  When tasted, it is first acidic and sour and then some slight floral aromas develop as the cheese is swallowed.  The flavour was very fresh - no "goatiness" as many people expect from goats milk cheese.  This freshness is a sign the goats milk has been handled with care and has not been abused - which is not surprising as Daniel & Sarah's goats graze very close to their little cheese factory.

Personally, I would prefer to allow this cheese to dry out a little more before I eat it, to get a more fudgy texture (which is easy enough to do yourself anyway).  Although many people in New Zealand are unfamiliar with fresh goats cheese, I think it could become popular due to its versatility.  Some of the ways we like to eat it include: in many types of salad, on home made pizzas, with honey or fresh fruit, or on top of pasta or vege bakes in winter.

Te Ma before I devour it.

Daniel and Sarah with their (happy) Saanen goats.

Half way

Just realised looking at my list of posts, I have written about 40 cheeses - so I am half way to "around the world in 80 cheeses".  Here's to 40 more.

Bt once I get to 80 I'm going to keep on counting, because there are so many different cheeses to try.  I will definitely have to plan on really focusing on the "world" part of it, and get out to taste some cheeses in interesting locations.

#40 - Kikorangi Blue cheese

Kikorangi has to be one of my all-time favourite cheeses.  It is a New Zealand classic, and consistently wins awards at the New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards.   It was Champion of Champions in 2011, and over the years has also won numerous gold medals, Champion Export Cheese, and Favourite Cheese Award (by public vote).

Image from www.kapiticollection.co.nz

Kapiti Cheeses was originally set up in 1984 by Ross McCallum and Neville McNaughton on the Kapiti Coast, when artisan cheese in New Zealand was in its infancy.  Ross and Neville were pioneers in introducing quality cheeses to New Zealanders, and Kikorangi became a firm favourite of consumers.  Over time the company grew significantly, and was eventually sold and after a couple of ownership changes ended up being purchased by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra. 

Today Kapiti is really just a brand, and the manufacture of Kikorangi has been transferred from the Kapiti coast to the Fonterra Brands specialty cheese factory in Eltham, Taranaki.  Some would argue that being made by a large multinational dairy company means it is no longer an ‘artisan’ cheese.  However, at the Eltham factory a wide variety of cheeses are made by traditional methods, and only a relatively small volume of each is made.  In fact Kikorangi is made in open vats rather than large computer controlled vats seen in larger factories, the curd is cut by the cheese makers, and apart from a little automated help with pumping the curd and filling the hoops, everything else including salting is done by hand.  And I think this shows in the final product.  Kikorangi is consistently good:  even an example not at its best is a good cheese (whereas I have come across some cheeses in supermarkets that made me wonder how they got past quality control).  At its best, I think it can match a good Stilton and can have more depth than popular European favourites such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort.

At 41% fat (and over 60% FDM), Kikorangi is a very creamy blue cheese.  It has a pale golden colour in the paste (helped by the beta-carotene in New Zealand milkfat that comes from our grass) and fine dark blue veins.  Many New Zealand blue cheeses have their rinds cleaned before sale – but not Kikorangi, and this adds to both the appearance and the overall flavour.  The dark brown to light grey mouldy rind is quite thin, and the flavour is not overpowering – it adds a slight earthy flavour with a hint of mushrooms.  The first thing I notice when I put a piece of Kikorangi in my mouth is the firm but creamy texture, almost like butter, that begins to melt away after a few seconds.  Then a hit of salt that is immediately balanced by creaminess, earthiness and the blue veins, and a sweet acidic tang to tie it all together.     

We just love this cheese, and if we are not careful we can go through a lot of it in one session.  

This is the example I tasted when writing this evaluation.  It is just a cheap one from "staff sales" to a Fonterra staff member but even so still tastes fantastic.

The snack I earned whilst writing this blog post.

#39 Abbot's Choice Mature Cheddar from Wensleydale Creamery

My mother is becoming a good source of cheese samples.  Since she was leaving the country for a lengthy overseas trip, she donated us this small waxed truckle of Cheddar.  We were interested to note that this cheese had been imported all the way from Wensleydale Creamery and made its way to little old Palmerston North, and lamented the fact that we hadn't made the opportunity to visit the Wensleydale creamery when we were living in Cumbria last year.

The Wensleydale Creamery is situated in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, and has carried on the tradition of hand making cheese using cow's milk from the pastures surrounding the town of Hawes.  It is most famous for Wensleydale cheese, and is the last place where that cheese is still made according to the proper traditions - although other dairies in surrounding counties make Wensleydale, it is not the "real" stuff.  Wensleydale is probably best known from Wallace & Gromit.  But I digress, this story is for another day when we focus on Wensleydale cheese itself.

The Cheddar is certainly presented in an interesting way - the miniature 200g truckle is coated in black wax, which looks pretty special.

Once we cut into the truckle, we noted the colour and texture.  The paste had quite a light colour, and the texture was slightly crumbly.  In fact , when we squeezed the cheese, it was quite soft, rather than the waxy crumble we expect in Cheddar.  This texture was almost like a "club" or reformed cheese, but may have been due to the small size of the truckle - it may be hard to "press" and maintain the curd in small rounds compared to a big 20kg truckle for example.

In terms of flavour,  we expected the wax to have imparted some flavours to the cheese given the surface area of wax involved.  This was not so - we could not taste any waxy off-flavours.  The flavours were nice (there was nothing notably "wrong" with the cheese), but the balance between the acidity, savouriness and sweetness did not remind us of a true Cheddar.  The acid-dryness in our mouths stayed during chewing and swallowing, unlike we would have expected.

This is probably more realistically described as a Cheddary-Wensleydale, which is perfectly reasonable given where it came from.  I think perhaps I have not presented this cheese in the best of light - all that I can say is that on a cheeseboard I can still see this being demolished by hungry guests, especially if there is a nice chutney or savoury jam and some crackers to go with it.