The Curd Whey

It is with great pride that I’m happy to report that the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers Association (ASCA) Cheese Showcase this weekend was the best cheese party I’ve been to since Adam Moskovitz’ acclaimed Cheesemonger Invitational in NYC!

Wow how the industry has come of age!  And wow…how many people really do love cheese! We had over 700 people attend the event held within the beautiful art deco surrounds of Ormond Hall in Melbourne.  The number of people attending is the best vote of confidence in the Australian industry that our cheesemakers (and butter maker!) could ask for. As an organiser of this event, the numbers attending, way exceeded our expectations – however while it was busy at times, I’d like to praise our cheesemakers for the way they handled the record numbers attending this event – only one cheesemaker ran out of cheese!

Those who know me well, know that I am passionate about seeing collaboration and camaraderie between members of our cheese community and it was so great to see so many cheesemakers, retailers, distributors and cheese-loving people working together at the event to achieve a greater good.  I have a good feeling about the future of our local industry.

This years focus on education was hit. Brandy the Cow and our friends from Animals on The Move – were much loved by kids and adults alike and the fresh butter made on site was some of the best I’ve tasted. The classes went down a treat, with seats filling up a good 20 minutes before the classes were due to start.

Giorgio from That’s Amore teaching us about mozzarella!

Ashley Church from Say Cheese took us on a journey into the world of affinage; Our fabulous friends from Rooftop Honey, Mat and Vanessa, paired up with Cheesemonger Anthony Femia to match local cheeses with local honey; Giorgio Linguanti from That’s Amore had the crowds salivating as he hand stretched mozzarella; and Angelina from Tea and Sympathy and yours truly, well and truly convinced the masses that tea and cheese works!  Better yet – the cheesemakers reported that the crowds in the main hall didn’t just want to gorge on free samples– they wanted to engage with them and learn about cheese and what they do!

For more information about the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers Association please check out their website and sign up to the newsletter – changes are continuing to take place to make the association a truly representative industry body!

A big thank you again to the sponsors of the event:

- Calendar Cheese Company

- Brasserie Bread

- Kurrajong Kitchen

To our Education Partners:

- Say Cheese

- Rooftop Honey

- Anthony Femia

- That’s Amore

- Tea and Sympathy

And to all those who exhibited at the event:

- Red Hill Cheese

- Milawa Cheese Company

- L’Artisan

- Yarra Valley Dairy

- Locheilan

- Woodside Cheese Wrights

- Jindi

- Jannei

- Warrnambool Cheese and Butter

- Myrtleford Butter

- That’s Amore

- Shaw River

- Ashgrove Cheese

- Boatshed Cheese

- Boosey Creek

- Kurrajong Kitchen

- Brasserie Bread

- Cheeselinks

- The Cheese Mag

The Australian Specialist Cheese Show is on in Melbourne on Saturday, 25 August. This years event promises to be exciting, with the opportunity to meet cheese makers and taste cheese from a large selection of Australian producers.

I’m looking forward to the event, not just because I’ve played a heavy hand in organising it, but also because this years event has a strong focus on education with a series of classes on offer including the opportunity to match cheese with both honey and tea, learn to make cheese and even get an insight into the world of affinage!  We will also be joined by our special guest ‘Brandy’ the milking cow so you can learn where milk, cream, butter and of course cheese really come from (with all due respect to our goat, sheep and buffalo cheese producers!)

Looking forward to seeing you on the day. Here’s all you need to know:

When:25 August, 11am-4pm
Where: Ormond Hall, 557 St Kilda Road (behind the Belgian Beer Cafe, entry via Moubray Street)
How much: Only $15 at the door
What’s included: Unlimited cheese tasting, classes and demonstrations.
What else is there: Wine and beer by the glass, cheese available for purchase

Find out more and sign up for the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers Association  newsletter at www.australiancheese.org

Thank you to the wonderful sponsors: Brasserie Bread, Calendar Cheese Company and Kurrajong Kitchen.

Thanks also to our masterclass partners: Melbourne City Rooftop Honey, The Smelly Cheese Shop, Tea & Sympathy, That’s Amore! Cheese and Cheesemonger Anthony Femia.

I’ve had some fun matching teas and cheeses recently with Angelina of Tea and Sympathy. While tea may not initially seem to be the most obvious companion to cheese, they actually have a lot in common. Both tea and cheese share a special bond in that they both come primarily from a single key ingredient yet their final characteristics can vary so much to reflect where and how they were produced.

Like wine, tea contains tannins, which help produce its’ complex tastes, aromas and colours. Some teas, such as black teas or oolong are tannin rich, while others, such as white tea or green tea contain very little tannins. While we tried not to get too bogged down in pairing mumbo jumbo, there is definitely something to be said for finding the right balance between tannins and the taste/texture of the cheese. We also found some interesting combinations based on matching both like and contrasting flavours and also pairings based on similar processing methods.  But the only real way to determine if a pairing will work is to experiment and taste it!

Some of my favorite combinations so far have been:

Mimolette and Honey Oolong – We thought these were a fascinating pair – not just on the basis of flavour matching and the bright orange colour of both the tea and cheese but also given the relationship that both tea and cheese have with bugs! One of my favourite cheeses, the French Mimolette, gets its pock marked rind from cheese mites that are introduced to the cheese during ripening in order to encourage tiny holes in the rind that allow the cheese to breath. Similarly, the Taiwanese Honey Oolong, develops its natural honey flavour in part due to leafhoppers that nibble on the tea leaves.

Gorgonzola Dolce and Alishan Green  - Both Gorgonzola Dolce and Alishan Green are sweet versions of savoury products. The tea provided a refreshing balance to the beautiful creamy mouth-feel of the Gorgonzola.

Pyengana Cheddar and Alishan Autumn Oolong – Prior to tasting this combination, Angelina described the flavour of Alishan Autumn Oolong to me as being biscuity. I thought it would be interesting to see whether we could re-create a ‘cheese and crackers’ type scenario using a beautiful cloth bound cheddar – it worked!

If you are interested in finding some more great combinations and learning more about tea and cheese in general, Angelina and I are hosting a tea and cheese class on Saturday 19th May 2-3:30pm at Tea and Sympathy

This week I was lucky enough to meet one of my real hero’s in the cheese world – Herve Mons.

Herve Mons is a third generation French ‘Affineur’, a true craftsman himself and passionate promoter of true artisan cheese making. I have mentioned ‘affinage’ in previous blog posts – a concept still relatively new in Australia but one that definitely deserves greater appreciation and understanding.

According to Mons, there are two important processes in creating cheese that greatly affect the quality of the end result; firstly, turning milk into curd and secondly, turning curd into cheese. Mons believes the first stage is the domain of the cheesemaker while the role of an affineur (or ‘refiner’) is to transform or ‘beautify’ the cheese into the final product. The cheesemaker-affineur relationship is important, as affinage will not make a bad cheese taste good, it can only make a good cheese taste better.

Mons works with 135 different producers, buying cheese young, direct from the producer and takes care of each cheese in such a way that they acquire their own unique characteristics. Different cheeses need to be nurtured in different environments in terms of humidity, temperature and ventilation so Mons has four different cellars available to age cheese within as well as a relatively new facility ‘Le Tunnel de la Collonge’ – a renovated railway tunnel that has been transformed into a cheese cellar! Each individual cheese requires its own special attention and is brushed, washed and rotated in order to bring out the best flavours possible. Mons explained that the most delicate step in refining cheeses is managing the airflow in the caves but compares the art of affinage to be a bit like cooking – a good chef will know how to adjust a recipe to be just right!

By buying cheeses young, Affineurs like Mons are able to provide more immediate cash flow to cheesemakers than if they matured cheeses themselves. From listing to Mons talk, I can see how cheesemakers are willing to trust him to develop the most out of their cheeses, both in terms of quality and their resulting sale price. In fact, Mons explained that if the proceeds from cheese sales is higher than expected, he willingly passes on gains back to the cheesemaker.  Cheese Solidarity at its finest!

This week a handful of inspiring and dedicated professionals in Australia were inducted into the Guilde International des Fromagers and La Confrerie de St Ugazon, prestigious organisations aiming to support the cultural and historical significance of quality cheese making.

The Guilde des Fromagers was founded in 1969 and aims to unite cheesemakers, cheesemongers and educators worldwide, who are dedicated to traditional methods of cheese production. There are six ranks within the Guilde:

• Garde et Juré (guard and judge)
• Prud’homme (educator)
• Maître Fromager (cheese master)
• Ambassadeur (ambassador)
• Protecteur (protector)
• Maître Honoris Caseus (honoris caseus master)

The Guilde is combined with La Confrérie de St. Uguzon organization, which recognises chefs, restaurateurs, food scientists and food journalists who have helped share knowledge of the cheese industry. There are two ranks within the Confrérie:

• Compagnon (companion)
• Compagnon d’honneur (honoris caseus companion)

Having a new Australian chapter of the Guilde and Confrérie is a big deal in a country where attention to specialty cheeses and the traditions behind them is only starting to gain traction. It demonstrates a real coming of age of our industry, and the effort of those people who have made it possible.

Interestingly, the Australian chapter sits (at lease in the short term) under the American chapter of the Guilde. While this has been done for linguistic reasons, I’m keen to see how this fosters further collaboration between our ‘new world’ countries.  Certainly in talking with the Chapter President and Ambassadeur Cathy Strange (global cheese buyer, Whole Foods Market) and Ambassadeur David Gremmels (cheesemaker, Rogue River Creamery) the desire is there to see each country’s industry grow and thrive.

Prior to this weeks induction ceremonies in both Melbourne and Sydney, only one Australian, Will Studd, was recognised by the Guilde as both a Maître Fromager and Ambassadeur of the Guilde. The new inductees came from a diverse backgrounds, demonstrating the importance not only of cheesemakers and cheesemongers but recognizing that there is an entire eco system that supports the industry.

New inductees:

L-R: Sophie Glasson, Will Studd, Marijke Ferdinands, Anthony Femia, Simon Johnson, Carla Meurs, David Gremmels, Phillipa Grogan, Bill Tzimas

What better way to celebrate the birth of sweet baby Jesus than with the creation of ‘sweet baby cheesus’!

In case you don’t know, I kicked off this whole cheese caper by giving my husband a home cheesemaking course as a present a few years ago. Not wanting to miss out on the action, I also enrolled myself….and the rest, as they say, is history….

A few people who know of my humble beginnings in the cheese world have been asking me about cheesemaking courses that they can give their loved ones for Christmas. As a huge advocate for greater appreciation through education, I’ve put together a list of a few local options here in Victoria, Australia that I have attended or know about:

Red Hill Cheese run great classes for aspiring home cheesemakers (it’s where I started!). The classes are set up in such a way that it’s easy to replicate some simple cheeses at home.

CheeseLinks run a bunch of courses at a number of sites around the country. The team is a wealth of knowledge and Cheeselinks carry a range of cheesemaking supplies including cultures, rennet, hoops and pretty much anything else you will need at home.

Giorgio Linguanti, cheesemaker from That’s Amore/La Latteria runs some fabulous stretched curd (mozzarella) classes (or you could just buy the I Love Mozzarella tshirt for your loved ones!)

For those of you that love your cheese but aren’t quite curd nerds that want to make it yourself, you may like to consider a personalised class from Anthony Femia, one of Australia’s best regarded cheesemongers. Anthony will also be leading the cheese and wine matching classes at the Food and Travel Co in the new year.

For those who haven’t followed the raw-milk debate in Australia closely, let me give you a quick summary of the current situation:

- Currently, the sale of raw milk is not legal in Australia.

- As for raw milk cheese it’s not quite as clear cut (pardon the pun!) Under the current Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code), Australian cheesemakers are permitted to make cheese with raw milk, provided:

1) the curd is heated to a temperature of no less than 48°C and;

2) the cheese or cheese product has a moisture content of less than 36%, after being stored at a temperature of no less than 10°C for a period of no less than 6 months from the date of processing.

What does this mean? Essentially only hard raw milk cheeses are allowed and even then, each State has its own regulations which further blurs what is and isn’t legal!

Cheeses are also allowed to be imported into Australia if they comply with the above regulations (eg Parmigiano Reggiano) and the Code also allows for importation of Emmental, Gruyere and Sbrinz raw milk cheese made according to Swiss regulations and raw milk Roquefort cheese produced according to French Ministerial Orders.

In August 2008, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) put forward Proposal P1007, a proposed approach to assess the current restrictions on the production and processing of raw milk products for sale in Australia. The Proposal’s main objective was to “enable a greater range of dairy products to be produced in, or imported into Australia, while maintaining an acceptable level of public health and safety for the Australian population”.

Three years later, in August 2011, FSANZ released its 2^nd Assessment Report regarding this Proposal.  This Assessment report recommended narrowing the scope of the Proposal to only focus on changes to the Code for hard to very-hard cheeses (referred to as Category 1 products in the Proposal) rather than also looking at changes to allow production and processing of raw milk semi-hard/soft cheeses. This means that FSANZ has only proposed very minor changes to the processing guidelines listed above. In reality, these changes will not make substantial difference to the number of raw milk cheeses that can be manufactured or imported into Australia.  A copy of the 2^nd Assessment Report can be found here.

FSANZ called for public comment on this 2^nd Assessment Report and I prepared the below submission.

FSANZ will now conduct a separate new Proposal, to be prepared at the end of 2011, to assess further amendments to the Code that would allow semi-hard or soft cheeses raw milk cheeses to be produced and/or imported.  I urge you all to keep a look out for this Proposal (you can email the Standards Management Officer at standards.management@foodstandards.gov.au with your contact details to receive direct notifications about the Proposal).

SUBMISSION REGARDING: PROPOSAL P1007, 2^nd ASSESSMENT REPORT – Primary production & processing requirements for raw milk products:

As a consumer and a proud professional working within the cheese industry, I have a genuine interest in ensuring Australia’s cheese (and more broadly dairy) industry is recognised as being world class, in quality, variety and competitiveness.

I therefore offer the following comments in response to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) 2^nd Assessment Report on Proposal P1007, which assesses the current restrictions on the production and processing of raw milk products in Australia.

Shortcomings of the Proposed Variation to Standard 4.2.4
I welcome the proposed changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 4.2.4, in order to allow for processing of products that meet the definition of ‘Category 1’[1] under proposal P1007. However, I feel that FSANZ has not truly met its primary objective of  ‘enabling a greater range of dairy products to be produced in, or imported into Australia’. While the changes proposed are a small step in the right direction, they will in reality mean only minor changes to the current regulations on milk heat treatment, maturation time and moisture content, and will not foster substantial growth in the range of products produced in, or imported into Australia.

While I understand that FSANZ now plans to progress a separate new Proposal to assess processing requirements of ‘Category 2’[2] products, it must be noted that it is very disappointing that the scope of Proposal P1007 was limited to Category 1 products in the 2^nd Assessment Report.

The 1st Assessment Report, delivered in December 2009, stated its ‘preferred approach’ as:

“To amend the current dairy processing requirements in the Code to allow for the production and import of raw milk products that meet the definition of Category 1 and 2 products into Australia (Option 3).”

I am disappointed that FSANZ has not managed to make more significant progress in the assessment work carried out since the 1st Assessment Report was delivered almost two years ago.

Furthermore, by limiting the scope of Proposal P1007, FSANZ has failed to provide a framework that would enable domestic producers to compete fairly with international producers. A prime example of this inequality in regulation is Roquefort, which is allowed to be imported into Australia, yet Australian producers are unable to emulate it. I feel this is a failure of Section 18 of the FSANZ Act which calls for FSANZ to have regard to ‘the promotion of consistency between domestic and international food standards’ and ‘the desirability of an efficient and internationally competitive food industry’ when developing and varying food regulatory measures.

Satisfying Consumer Demand and Achieving International Consistency

I note that 87% of respondents to the 1^st Assessment were consumers, primarily interested in the production and purchase of raw milk cheese. This high proportion of respondents shows that there is significant support for changes to existing regulations. Over the past few years, Australian consumers have become more discerning, as the quality, range and access to food products in general has increased. The specialty cheese market has enjoyed a significant growth in demand due to this revolution in consumer interest.

My passion for specialty cheese has led me to seek out the very best cheeses I can find, both in Australia and during extensive overseas travel. I wholeheartedly believe that cheeses made from raw milk embody authentic regional characteristics and superior flavour when compared to similar cheeses made from pasteurised milk.  Australian consumers should have the right to choose from a greater variety of raw milk cheeses like those already produced overseas, provided they are of high quality and meet regulatory standards. Furthermore, our local producers should also have the ability to produce raw milk cheeses, made within regulatory guidelines, in order to meet increased local consumer demand and to increase our dairy industry’s ability to compete on the world stage.

The proposed changes to Standard 4.2.4 detailed in the 2^nd Assessment Report do not allow for consistency with the production and import regulations of many other countries. In particular Australia should look to align our regulations on this issue with the changes recently adopted in New Zealand, with whom we share other food safety standards.

The New Proposal to Focus on Category 2 Cheeses

I welcome FSANZ decision to continue to work on regulatory changes to permit further raw milk products to be produced locally and imported into Australia.  I urge FSANZ to publicly detail the studies and assessment surrounding Category 2 products that have been undertaken thus far.

I also note that only one member of the Standard Development Committee (SDC) for Proposal P1007 represented consumers, which was disproportionate to the amount of consumer interest in this issue. I call on FSANZ to include a greater consumer presence on the SDC when considering this future Proposal on Category 2 products. I would be happy to participate as a member of this Committee.