Say Cheese! Australia’s Raw Cheesemaking Sector Expected To Grow Bigger

The cheesemakers in South Australia and Tasmania's Bruny Island may soon create history in the world of cheesemaking. Though the South Australian dairies account for only about 6 percent of the country’s milk, the region has three of the four raw milk cheesemakers in Australia. The good news is, as the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) lifts the ban on some raw milk cheeses, more cheesemakers are expected to move into the sector.

Meanwhile, cheesemaker Nick Haddow from the tiny island in Tasmania said looking at its demand, there would be chaos if he stopped making raw cheese. In fact, he was the first Australian cheesemaker to produce raw cheese.

Denise Riches from Hindmarsh Valley Dairy on the Fleurieu Peninsula, said, two years ago she has recreated the classic Swiss cheese Emmentaler into what she calls Emme. When pitted against imported raw milk cheese, she admitted it was difficult but her market is primarily for the consumers who want Australian-made raw milk cheese.

High profile cheesemaker Kris Lloyd in the Adelaide Hills also enjoys working with raw milk. She plans to start selling her raw cow’s milk cheese and raw goat’s milk’s cheese later this year. Interestingly, an ongoing project at the Dairy Innovation Australia in Victoria is also aimed at giving pasteurised milk cheese more of a raw flavour. Although Dairy Innovation is a major supplier of industrial cheese cultures, with artisan cheesemakers help, the dairy product supplier is now concentrating on creating more complicated cultures.

"The main concerns [until now] have been safety, reproducibility of culture performance, and flavour I'm afraid has often come a slightly distant third," Dairy Innovation's Ian Powell said.

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: barsha23@gmail.com.