Goat, Cows, Sheep - All Things Dairy Cheesemaking Classes

You can make cheese and yoghurt from so many different sources.  In fact last year we had cheese produced from Reindeer!

We stick to simple things. 

Our All Things Dairy Cheesemaking Classes are for the Beginner who knows little about the cheesemaking process but wants to learn and put their hands in the Curd.

We use a mixture of milk types
 - you can opt for fresh goat milk off the farm or purchased full cream cows milk.

After you have made your cheese, you can eat it or take it home. Despite high milk prices it is still economic to make cheese so come along and enjoy yourselves

We have two Classes coming up in May and June with all details on www.curdsandwhey.co.nz/Workshops

Winners at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards 2014

At the annual dinner held last night at the Langham Hotel, Auckland the NZ Cheese Industry is saluted for its originality, quality and versatility.  Eighteen awards are awarded for excellence but the one that interests us the most is the winner of the home cheesemaker category.

This year there were four gold medallist finalists - and the judges found it hard to choose.  Quality cheese made at home is not something to be dismissed!

We are delighted to announce that the 2014 winner of our joint award is

Curds & Whey Champion Home Crafted Cheese Award

Formaggio di Latte Fresco - Aglio

Curds & Whey Champion Home Crafted Cheesemaker Award

Bri DiMattina

Come and see us at the equally enjoyable Cheesefest held today 5 March in the Ballroom of the Langham Hotel, Symonds Street Auckland from 5-8.30pm.  Tickets at the door.

You can taste and try all the extremely yummy cheeses that won their gold medals last night. See you there!

Sacco cultures win again - Hipi Sheep Yoghurt

The annual Cuisine Artisan Awards is a unique forum for producers of quality products.  Among this year's winners is Hipi Sheep Yoghurt,  For those of you interested in your health, keeping your cholesterol in trim and wanting to bounce with healthy probiotics then Hipi yoghurt is for you.

Hipi - the Maori term for Sheep - has been on the NZ market for approximately 12 months - in that short time it has made an impact through specialty stores, delicatessens, food shows and the public love it.

Sheep milk suits the lactose intolerant, the probiotics are good for you, the yoghurt is thick and delicious with no added thickeners and Hipi has a very long shelf life.  What more do you want!

Curds & Whey are proud suppliers of the Sacco cultures that have contributed to the success of this wonderful product and congratulate the Hipi team that produced such a stunning result
Interested in reading more then check out:

http://cuisineartisanawards.co.nz/artisans.nsf/0/winner
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1402/S00214/nz-products-impress-at-the-cuisine-2014-artisan-awards.htm
http://www.3news.co.nz/Big-winners-at-Cuisine-Artisan-Awards/tabid/423/articleID/332059/Default.aspx

All Things Dairy - more Dairy Workshops coming up in October

There is nothing quite like being practical and getting your hands in the Curds & Whey!  That's what we do at our Workshops where we demystify the cheesemaking process and make it not only fun but a great addition to one's culinary abilities!  Lynne had never made cheese before - far too busy at work - but she came along full of enthusiasm to one of our Saturday morning Workshops and launched into cheesemaking -

It was a totally enjoyable experience for me and learnt a lot and really appreciated that the programme was using basic tools that you have at home , as you can imagine. This is just the beginning and so looking forward to trying more recipes." 

We use fresh goat milk at our Workshops milked that morning from the goats frolicking round the paddock or you have an alternative choice of using shop purchased full cream milk

So more Workshops coming up - all purchasing can be done on www.curdsandwhey.co.nz - Workshop - this is a great present for someone you know who likes doing something different

Why don't you put some time aside and come along either on:

Saturday 12 October - learn how to make Feta, Fast Halloumi and Mascarpone
Sunday 13 October - learn how to make Camembert, Chevre and Fast Mozzarella
or treat yourself to both!

All Things Dairy Workshops this month

These are the Workshops for you - Practical, interesting and fun.  You arrive a Novice and go home a Cheesemaker!

See our programme below:

All Things Dairy Workshops

Specialist home and artisan cheesemaking supplier Curds & Whey advise that they have two very practical “All Things Dairy Workshops” coming up this month.

The Two programs will be:

17/8 – (17 August 2013):
Fetta, Fast Halloumi, Ricotta, (Pasteurisation for raw milk)

31/8 (31 August 2013)
Camembert, Mascarpone, Fast Mozzarella, Chevre

These are practical hands-on workshops when you will learn the basics about cheesemaking and All Things Dairy. You make and take your cheese home.

Uniquely our All Things Dairy Workshop allows the possibility of selecting either commercial pasteurised cow milk or pasteurised goat milk. You may also request raw goat milk. Or bring your own milk!

Unless you indicate a preference a minimum of 24 hours before the start of the workshop, a combination of commercial pasteurised cow milk and/or pasteurised goat milk will be supplied and used on the day.

Tutor: Paula Levett – has been making cheese for 20 years. Commercially trained with a good technical knowledge base, medal winner at the annual NZ Specialty Cheese Awards several times.

Location: The Cheese Shed, 122 Glenbrook Beach Road , Glenbrook Auckland South which is a one-hour drive from central Auckland.

The Workshop starts at 8.30am and finishes at midday.

Cost $125.00. All working equipment provided. Recipes, Notes and Evaluation Form are included.

The participant brings along containers to take home cheese, sushi mats, apron, pen and pencil for extra notes.

Take a morning off for yourself. Come and learn the “nuts and bolts” of dairy.

Details and bookings here: www.curdsandwhey.co.nz/subcategory/cheesemaking-workshops.

All Things Dairy Workshops - starting August 2013

All Things Dairy Workshops - starting next month August 2013

We have planned these Workshops to be really practical interesting Workshops when you learn all about milk and what you can turn it into.  Our Tutor, Paula Levett, has 20 years experience in cheesemaking and as a Goat Farmer has an appreciation of the art and science involved from milking an animal; turning milk from curdsandwhey into something delicious to eat!  We are starting with simple starting cheeses but will slowly introduce more complex products into our workshop schedule.

 

Please go to www.curdsandwhey.co.nz/Workshops for fuller details.  Workshops are located within a one hour drive from Auckland City

 

 

Curds & Whey love their Cheesemakers who keep getting better and better.  We support them and they support us - so we thought you would like to read some of the comments we have received in the past few weeks:

Our skilled home artisans

 

Thanks for all your help and friendliness.  The creme fraiche made with Sacco MO 030 has turned into something wonderful. LF

 

I am delighted with the Sacco culture you sold to me (Lyofast M 036 R). However, it will be running out soon, I fear, so I was wondering if you have more … RN

I did appreciate your enclosure of recipe and your general helpfulness.You run a very nice service. SR

 

What a huge success! We love these divine little cheeses (Coulommier): we made 3 small ones from 3L of silver top milk and have sampled the first wee round after 10 days ripening. IT’S lovely but can we keep our knives off the next two which are ripening for longer?  Hopefully until  molten in the middle with a soft crust on the outside. ….. and when we’ve got the ripening length to satisfaction well there’s the 5L milk cheese to make into a sort of “Brie-de-Meaux. FC

Thanks again for the advice, the yoghurt culture is great (Lyofast Y450B) much better than anything I have purchased so far since moving to NZ. PU

And we support the innovative commercial cheesemakers who are alive and well in NZ

 

The support from the Anchar team is exactly what we need and I will enjoy plucking information and placing orders. DJ - KC

Clerici Sacco acquires CSL's culture business

We are delighted to announce that our culture and enzyme supplier Clerici-Sacco has acquired all of CSL’s culture business.  CSL is recognised for its competencies in thermophilic cultures for dairy applications such as fermented milks and Italian cheese types.

“The Clerici-Sacco group is ranked as one of the foremost players in starter culture development and production and with this acquisition will be number 3 in the world in the field of thermphilic cultures” says Per Pedersen, Business Development Director at Clerici Sacco.

Furthermore CSL has a valuable collection of probiotic strains and a GMP Pharmaceutical approved facility.  This will allow Clerici-Sacco to further advance one of its strategic ambitions to further penetrate the global pharmaceutical/nutraceutical sectors.

Synergistic effects will also come through merging and simplifying the two culture portfolios into one. “Naturally there will be benefits by changing over to the most optimised production conditions from either company” says Martino Verga, CSO.  The new integrated business will bring together two skilled and experienced teams and will increase the professional and technical resources and capabilities at all levels resulting in an increase in innovation and technical support.

Shamrock Food Ingredients Pty Ltd Australia has been Clerici-Sacco’s exclusive distributor in Australia for six years and latterly in conjunction with Curds & Whey in New Zealand.   For more information about the positive impact of the CSL acquisition for Australian and New Zealand customers please contact us Danny O’Regan at Shamrock Food Ingredients E danny@shamrockfood.com.au and Anna Rolfe at Curds & Whey E anchar@icr.net.nz

Increasing our Cheesemaking Knowledge

The more we learn - the better we are.  NZ's Waikato University Biotechnology Learning Hub is full of interesting information and advice not only on cheesemaking but many alllied subject areas.  Aimed at Primary and Secondary School students this is a useful information source for us all so check out http://bit.ly/8PHh8 where you will be suprised and delighted at the quality of information available

Keeping you in touch with Raw Milk Submissions

Thank you for your submission on proposals for continuing to legally provide for farm gate sales of raw drinking milk.  The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) received 1685 submissions on the proposals.

After considering the outcome of consultation, the Minister for Food Safety, the Hon Kate Wilkinson, decided that farm gate sales of raw milk will continue to be allowed, and that the amount that can be purchased is likely to increase in the future. The Minister has also decided that farmers will be exempt from the current requirement to have a Risk Management Programme for farm gate sales of raw milk and will instead need to adhere to certain animal health and hygiene requirements.

The Minister has also asked MPI to undertake further scientific and policy work to investigate increasing the limit that consumers can purchase and whether raw milk can be sold off the farm in a way that balances managing the risks to public health with consumer choice.

MPI will also look at how consumers can be provided with information on risks associated with raw drinking milk at the point of sale so they are able to make an informed choice when they purchase raw drinking milk. 

 

MPI will consult on any new regulatory proposals relating to the production and sale of raw drinking milk, including the animal health and hygiene requirements, any limits on the quantity that can be purchased and sold and any proposals for sales of raw milk outside of the farm.  Your name has been added to the mailing list so you will be advised of consultation on this issue.

In the interim, the current legislation applies, and if people wish to consume raw milk they can buy up to 5 litres of raw milk from the farm gate for their own personal use or to provide to their family to consume.

 

A summary of the submissions has been posted on the MPI website at:

http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/farm-gate-raw-milk-sales/index.htm

 

Information on safe food practices in relation to raw drinking milk these can also be found on the MPI website at:

http://www.foodsmart.govt.nz/food-safety/high-risk-foods/raw-milk/rawmilk.htm

Maritime Strike action between North and South Islands

Strike action by Aviation and Marine Engineers and the Merchant Service Guild will affect inter-island freight delivery between Dec 1-7. This will mean no inter-island ferries will be running.  Every effort will be made to facilitate and help our clients during this awkward period

Lets Curdle the Whey and blog about cheese

Share our ideas so that everyone's pleased - help out each other with tips and comments

Whether you are starting cheesemaking or are more experienced the key ingredients for making good cheese are milk, quality cultures, a simple but comprehensible recipe and time. Discussion is in progress about access to raw milk in NZ but many of you with domestic sources are making superb and memorable cheeses.  If in a more urban setting look for full cream milk at your local shop which will be pasteurised.  To pasteurise milk: two choices - heat to 61degC hold for 30 mins; or a quicker method heat to 72degC and hold for 15 seconds. What is the best way you have found to pasteurise milk - have you any helpful tips?