CHEESEWIRE
news and views from the cheese counter
Group launched to assist EHOs with raw milk cheesemaking concerns By Patrick McGuigan
The Specialist Cheesemakers Association (SCA) has launched a new technical group to discuss “areas of concern” with environmental health officers (EHOs) that have raw milk cheesemakers in their area. Thirty-one EHOs from England, Scotland and Wales joined the first online working group at the end of May, which was chaired by dairy consultant and SCA technical committee member Paul Thomas. “I wouldn’t say there’s a hostile environment to raw milk cheesemaking in the UK, but there are some EHOs that are wary of raw milk cheeses and can get quite nervous,” he told FFD. “Raw milk cheese poses unique challenges, and we need
to demonstrate that safety can be effectively managed.” The SCA said the group had been set up to discuss “areas of concern, emerging problems and food safety management specific to this type of cheesemaking”, with topics raised at the first meeting including Shiga-toxinproducing E-coli and Bovine TB. While making cheese with raw milk is legal in the UK, new cheesemakers are sometimes strongly advised to pasteurise their milk by EHOs. Five Scottish cheesemakers also successfully overturned new Food Standards Scotland guidance on raw milk cheese production in 2019, which they argued would effectively regulate raw milk cheese out of existence in Scotland.
The group has been set up to guide EHOs through tricky issues around raw milk cheesemaking processes
Yorkshire Pecorino made raw milk cheese when it launched 10 years ago, but was swiftly advised to pasteurise by the local EHO. “They had no experience of cheesemaking in the area, so were very wary,” said owner Mario Olianas, who still uses pasteurised milk today. “They completely discouraged me from using raw milk and I thought it was better to agree.” Other well-known British cheesemakers have switched from raw milk to pasteurised in recent years including Neal’s Yard Creamery and Norton & Yarrow. Fraser Norton, co-owner of Norton & Yarrow, who makes Sinodun Hill and Brightwell Ash, told FFD that the decision to pasteurise last year came after encountering a number of low-level issues with the quality of milk being bought in. This resulted in whole batches of cheese being thrown away. “It’s very expensive to do that, leaving us with a big hole in our cash flow and affecting consistency of supply,” he said. “It can cost as much as £10,000 to 15,000 when an issue with quality occurs in the milk, which is a huge amount for a small business.”
NEWS IN BRIEF Vegan ‘cheesemonger’ La Fauxmagerie has signed a deal to supply Waitrose stores nationwide with vegan cheese alternatives, including Shoreditch Smoked, Truffle Camemvert, Betta Feta, and Brixton Blue. Dairy Crest, owned by Saputo, has admitted 21 pollution incidents, including discharges of waste into the River Inny, and permit breaches at its Davidstow Creamery in Cornwall, where it makes Cathedral City. The company was due to be sentenced as FFD went to press. Around 100,000 wheels of PDO-protected Parmesan are to be fitted with tracking chips in an initiative to prevent fraud. The scheme will help the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium differentiate between authentic and fake cheeses.
Morgan McGlynn, owner of Cheeses of Muswell Hill and regular face on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, has written a new guide to cheese pairing and creating delicious cheeseboards. The Modern Cheeseboard, Pair Your Way to the Perfect Grazing Platter is published by White Lion this month and features 40 cheeseboards with information on the cheeses, the accompaniments and garnishes. cheesesonline.co.uk
THREE WAYS WITH...
Spenwood
Created in the 1980s, Britain’s take on Pecorino, Spenwood from Village Maid Cheese in Berkshire is now hailed as a modern classic. Made with thermised sheep’s milk, the hard pressed cheese is aged for six to nine months until it has a supple texture and nutty flavour, becoming more piquant over time.
Pecorino White wines made with the Pecorino grape variety in Marche and Abruzzo, Italy, have a racy acidity and interesting stone fruit and herbaceous notes that make them a refreshing match with hard sheep’s milk cheeses. The sharpness of the wine cuts across the salty, savoury elements of Spenwood, while the fruitiness emphasises the cheese’s sweet notes. Truffle hazelnuts Truffles and sheep’s milk cheeses have a natural affinity as demonstrated by Italian flavoured cheeses like Pecorino al Tartufo and Moliterno. There’s also a lovely nutty quality to Spenwood that make Tartuflanghe’s truffle-flavoured hazelnuts a no-brainer as an accompaniment. The roasted and salted nuts from Piedmont, coated in truffle juice, ramp up the nuttiness of the cheese and add a layer of mushroomy perfume and a pleasing crunch. Ramen Noodles might not be an obvious cheese partner, but restaurant group Bonedaddies begs to differ. The London chain developed a special ramen dish in collaboration with the Cheese Bar last year, topped with grated Spenwood. Combining with homemade pork broth, fried pork belly, soy egg, sesame pesto, chilli oil, beansprouts and Tokyo noodles, the cheese acted like extra seasoning – upping the umami and adding richness. Vol.23 Issue 6 | July 2022
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