Buffalo leads stampede from old-style cheddar
Cheeses from across the country were lined up this week in the judging rooms at Sydney Olympic Park for the annual Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce Show. Gerry Andersen, chairman of the dairy products committee, tells Detective the awards have been in place for more than 100 years. But things have changed. Industrial-grade cheddar used to be the go, now goat’s and ewe’s milk cheeses are outnumbering the old-style favourites; buffalo cheese is in with a showing as well. Much sought-after buffalo cheeses are still a tiny presence, with two entries (in different categories) both from Vannella Cheese Factory in Far North Queensland. Helen Parker, Sydney Royal’s wine, dairy and fine food co-ordinator, says there are about five buffalo dairies in the country; of these Shaw River Buffalo Dairy, on the Great Ocean Road in western Victoria, is a standout but has insufficient milk to enter this year. There are seven sheep’s milk entries (five dairies) and a splendid 52 entries from 31 goat’s cheesemakers. Specialty cheeses submitted total 235; cheddar just 44. A big shift, but chief judge Neil Willman tells Detective it’s been happening over the past few years. A “very new thing”, Parker tells Detective, is cheese made from blends—sheep and goat or goat and cow—which has hit the market in the past 18 months. Three innovative makers are: Capparis Goat Cheese near Barrington Tops, NSW, where Aled Hoggett is cheesemaker; Woodside Cheese Wrights in South Australia, where Kris Lloyd is head cheesemaker and Grandvewe Cheeses, a sheep dairy in Tasmania, where Diane Rae is farmer and cheesemaker. The Australian, February 16.
