THE CHEESE WIRE NEws - JULY 2018

CHEESE, GREAT FOOD, ITALIAN MARKETS & QUIRKY FACTS

Hello Food Lovers, Friends & Cheese Fanatics,
Cold winter nights and gorgeous sunny days are the perfect excuse to hunker down with a chunk or two of cheese and a glass of wine in front of your favourite TV box set, catch up on your magazines or finish your book.  Or to grab a friend and join me for a little light entertainment, education and experience the world of cheese.  

OLD SHEEP, STRETCHED CURD & SASSY GOATS

A TASTING OF CHEESE FROM NELSON & MARLBOROUGH WITH LOCAL WINES
Tuesday 25th - Friday 27th September 2018
For anyone who buys, sells or simply loves cheese

Where you find great wines in Europe you will find great cheese so I'm not surprised Marlborough and Nelson are producing excellent cheeses.  And the cheesemakers have banded together and invited me to do a series of talks, tastings and training session in Nelson and Blenheim.  An insight into the complexity and character of the different milk types and cheese styles plus finding a match with local wines.  So if you love good food, a good yarn and good company email us today and we will send you details when we have them.

CHEESEMAKERS OF CANTERBURY CLOSING

  “With heavy hearts we have decided to close our business with effect from mid-July. We have been around since 2000, initially trading from a little van before opening the Salisbury St cheese shop and bakery in 2002. …. but running a small business since the earthquakes has taken its toll …. Neither of us are sure what comes next, maybe a smaller shop, maybe another van! …..   ” Sarah & Martin Aspinwall July 2018

I love these guys and all they have done for New Zealand cheesemakers plus they have inspired a generation of cheese lovers in Canterbury “Thank you. I have loved working with and sharing cheese stories!”  Juliet Harbutt July 2018  

OBITUARY

BIDDY FRASER-DAVIS RAW MILK CAMPAIGNER

Famous for her wonderful raw milk cheese Cymglyn, for relentlessly battling bureaucracy to ensure we could enjoy it, and for putting Eketahuna on the map, Biddy Fraser-Davies past away at the age of 76 on Friday 13th July. At one point she was spending $20,000 annually on meeting the rules for raw milk cheesemaking. Biddy and her cheese will be greatly missed.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOATS [AND SHEEP'S MILK] CHEESE GONE?

Chatting to my friends at Thorvald sheep cheese and Cranky Goat in Nelson, who were lamenting the fact that many people don’t realise sheep and goats milk is subject to the seasons just like fruit or veg.  It only comes into season around September-October [Winter] when the lambs or kids arrive.  Production then peak in October-Chatting to my friends at Thorvald sheep cheese and Cranky Goat in Nelson, we were lamenting the fact that many people don’t realise sheep and goats milk is subject to the seasons just like fruit or veg.  It only comes into season around September-October [Winter] when the lambs or kids arrive.  Production then peak in October-November when cheesemakers will be frantically converting the luscious milk into wonderful cheeses.  Then as the weather gets hotter milk volume drops off and by winter it has all but dried up. Fresh cheese appear almost immediately as they only take a few days to make. Soft rinded cheese take another 4-6 weeks to ripen and hard take 4-24 weeks to ripen so will be available much longer.  
Some farmers, like David, divide their mob into 2- 3 flocks so they can stagger the lambing, plus they graze
outside. But drought, bad weather or sheer bloody mindedness can cause a flock or herd to dry up.  So if you can’t find the one you love, love the one you find. Enjoy the season when it arrives like you do with strawberries or asparagus! 

My new PA [Carolyn] was totally charmed and distracted by this video of cute baby goats frolicking around in their pajamas and thought you might enjoy it too!..
Baby Goats Pajama Party

THE MARKETS OF ITALY
A HUNTER GATHERER TOUR IN JUNE 2019 .....

While Europe and the UK struggled with a heatwave in June I feasted on the bounty it produced, from big fat porcini mushrooms, to sweet fragile, frais du bois, bundles of white and green asparagus and an abundance of sun ripened tomatoes.  However as always my focus was on the ubiquitous cheese stalls groaning under the weight of musty, fusty, mould covered, exquisite artisan cheeses.   
In fact, it has inspired me to host two 4-day Hunter Gatherer Tours in June next year.  One at Castello d Potentino - my favourite 15th century Tuscan castle, south of Siena with its luscious sangiovese wine and rambling kitchen garden.  The other centred around a French Chateau, also owned by English friends, a few hours SE of Bordeaux near the Pyrenees.  So if you are planning a trip to Europe in 2019 I suggest you make a detour…. 

THE HEALTH WAR AGAINST CHEESE MAY BE COMPLETELY MISGUIDED

• Cheese lovers, rejoice.
• There’s new evidence that the saturated fat found in cheese, milk, and other kinds of dairy is not tied to an increased risk of heart problems or death from any cause.
• The study falls in line with increasing evidence that the fat in our diets is not the villain when it comes to negative health outcomes and weight gain.

To read full article in the Business Insider please click here