Yarra Valley Dairy Grabbetto

A most picturesque part of Victoria, located in the east, just over an hour away from Melbourne, you'll find the Yarra Valley. Besides being home to one of our great wine regions, it's also where you'll find the Yarra Valley Dairy.

Yarra Valley Dairy was established in 1996 and produces a range of cows and goats milk cheese that are made in a French/Italian style using non-animal rennet.

Still located in a hundred year old shed, the dairy's retail side has changed somewhat since my last visit. There used to be quite a nice cafe but it has downsized considerable to make way for more cheese making facilities. A viewing window now enables you to get up-close and watch the cheese-making process.

They have added a new wine hub which features wines from some of the smaller wineries that don't yet offer cellar door facilities . Cheese tastings are still available and you can sit back and relax with coffee or if you're in need of a larger cheese fix, platters can be purchased.

Cheese Maker - Yarra Valley Dairy
Cheese Type - Grabbetto: Ashed and White Mould Goat Cheese
Location - McMeikans Road, Yering, Victoria
Open: Daily 10.30am - 5.00pm

Grabbetto is a curd style goat's cheese, matured between 2-4 weeks it's noted for its unusual truncated cone shape.

On the left is the young ashed Grabbetto and to the right, the mature version, in which white mould has developed to form a thick skin.

The ash makes a great contrast to the pure white curd - soft and delicate, very easy to cut.

The mould is still quite soft to the touch, when cut the maturation process is visible.

The distinct line will move towards the centre as time passes - the core is more brittle when compared to it's surrounds. This cheese was used in my Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs - the core melted more quickly in the heat of the eggs whereas the outer layers stayed intact, this made for a nice textural detail in the dish

Both these cheeses should appeal to the goat cheese novice and veteran alike.

Originally published here

Red Hill Cheese Indulgence

Inspired by Farmhouse cheese-making in Europe, Red Hill Cheese was established in 2000 at Red Hill in the scenic Mornington Peninsula, here in my home state of Victoria.

Using organic cow milk and free-range goat milk from single herds they produce a range of seasonal cheese. It's worth noting that a vegetarian rennet is used and that they are free of artificial stabilisers and preservatives.

Cheese Maker: Red Hill Cheese
Cheese Type: Indulgence (Cow)
Location: 81 William Road (Off Arthurs Seat Road), Red Hill
Cellar Door: Open daily Noon-5pm (except Christmas, Boxing Day & Good Friday)

Indulgence is a curd style, cows' milk cheese - and sold in two forms, fresh and aged. When young it's snow white in colour but as it matures it darkens. It's skin moves from a soft wrinkle to having a more waxy appearance. Indulgence is described as a "sweet-lactic, creamy, fine-textured, wrinkled, traditional soft cheese." This particular cheese is the aged version.

There's a note on the side of the cheese alerting us to the fact that there may be some blue mould on the cheese - it's just due to the cheese-making process - natural floras are allowed to develop in the cellars.

You can see some traces of how white it is when first made - this is about 2 weeks from being fully matured.

I quite like it's compact barrel shape - there's some character to it.

Opened, it gives a good idea of how it's matured - the smooth, creamy line near the rind indicates a fully matured state - the maturation moves from the outside towards the centre.

There's quite a bit of flavour accompanying a sweet, mouth filling creaminess. There's also a definite saltiness to it's taste but that gives it a clean flavour.

All up, an interesting cheese with a lot of character and a unique taste.


Originally published here

King Island Dairy Discovery Scrubbed Brie

King Island is located in Bass Strait - a notorious stretch of water between Victoria and Tasmania. This small island is home to less than 2000 people - its main industries are fishing (cray and abalone), beef, wool, kelp and most famously dairying.

The environment is quite pristine - pastures are pollution and chemical free. No feed supplements or growth additives are used.

It's also home to that most well-known dairy - King Island Dairy.

Cheese Maker - King Island Dairy

Cheese Type - Discovery Scrubbed Brie

Location - King Island

The first thing that you will notice, even before opening the box is the definite aroma of mushrooms - a very pleasant aroma.

Opening the box, you'll find your golden ingot of sorts - well, it is a gold wrapped bar.

As you unwrap it's almost like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", no lucky ticket but there's an increase in that mushroom scent.

You might be asking what exactly is a "scrubbed brie"?

It's a cows milk Brie, made using traditional French techniques that is wrapped Brevi Linens then hand scrubbed to give it those earthy, mushroom aromas. It has a distinctive saffron skin - it's not as intense as a washed rind cheese and would be a good introduction to this genre of cheese.

As you cut through you'll notice is soft texture, it's almost butter like colouring. Taste wise, it's soft and creamy with delicate mushroom tones.

It is best served at room temperature - you'll notice that it would become softer and have that wonderful gooey characteristic.

It really is a great cheese for a cheese platter - it's a bit unusual but it should be something everyone would enjoy.

Originally published here