April, 2012

April, 2012

Jan 9, 2011 12:00 AM | By Hilary Biller



HEARD THE MOOS TODAY: Rob Visser with his Dalewood cows Were you at the event in Birmingham? Unfortunately not - dairy farming and cheese making are highly intensive and time-consuming. We were up against the best cheeses in the world and never anticipated this huge win. Kobus Mulder of Agri-Expo was there to represent us and he is South Africa's greatest cheese ambassador. You entered in the category "farms producing less than two tons a week". How long have you been making cheese and how did it start? Officially for 10 years. I always dreamed of making cheese. Our farm, Dalewood, has been in the Visser family for over 40 years. When I took over from my dad 18 years ago it had a small jersey herd, which provided milk for the local farming community. My particular interest is genetics and I started focusing on upgrading the herd with the intention of achieving stud status. After countless cheese tastings in France and Germany, we started experimenting in 1997. In 2000 we launched our original cheese, the Wineland Camembert. What inspired you to make the Huguenot? I am particularly fond of the French mountain cheeses. I spent some time visiting French cheeseries in the Haute-Savoie region and sniffed out a few traditional cheese-making secrets. They inspired me to make a semi-hard, mature cheese from a grass-fed herd that would be uniquely South African. I wanted to create a cheese for a "South African sandwich", as the French do with their baguette. How would you describe a Huguenot? It is a semi-hard, brushed-rind style of cheese, slow matured for at least six months. You might say it tastes something like a cousin to gruyère, medium-full in character with sweet, nutty overtones. It is produced in a huge, "golden cartwheel" and is, as far as I am aware, the largest head of cheese made in South Africa. You pride yourself on your herd of grass-fed jersey cows. Does all the milk they produce go into making cheese? Almost all of the daily production. We do also supply Zandam a small percentage for their cheese production. Huguenot is great used in cooking. What is your favourite way of using the cheese? My absolute favourite is Huguenot soufflé served with a green salad - great for a light meal on a summer's evening. And then the ultimate is a decadent Huguenot fondue around the fire in winter. Because of its complexity, elasticity and melting capabilities, one can get away with using this one cheese only. When you started out there were only a handful of small producers of farm cheeses in the country. This has changed dramatically in the past few years. Why? There has been a huge shift towards "food consciousness", particularly in the past five years in South Africa. The consumer has become more discerning. People have become aware of and interested in the origin and authenticity of their food. I think the SA Cheese Festival has done a great job educating the South African public and creating awareness around cheese. This in turn has challenged potential and existing cheese-makers to launch new products or extend their ranges. Speciality cheese shops such as Cheese Gourmet in Linden, Johannesburg, have also done a tremendous amount to spread the good news. What five different SA cheeses make for an excellent cheeseboard selection? It is impossible to choose, but if I have to obviously Huguenot, Fairview Royden, Dalewood Brie Superlatif, Foxenburg Chevre or Chabris and Fairview Blue Rock.

Rob and Petrina Visser and their team at Dalewood Fromage Estate Cheese in Paarl were thrilled to hear that their Huguenot® was awarded a Super Gold Medal at the World Cheese Awards 2010 held on November 24th during the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham, U.K. 201 judges from 19 different countries judged 2 629 cheeses from 29 countries. Judges consisted mainly of cheese makers, cheese buyers of supermarkets (Whole Food Market and Tesco), speciality food shops (Partridges and Paxton & Whitfield), cheese scientists and food journalists. Most of these judges come across good cheeses in their everyday commercial life and were looking for the “Wow” factor during judging. And according to Kobus Mulder of Agri Expo, they appeared to be stricter and were expecting cheeses to surprise them with exceptional flavour and texture qualities before awarding a medal. In congratulating the Visser’s, Kobus also said that the Super Gold medal awarded to Dalewood’s Huguenot during the initial judging round pushed it through to the second round of 47 cheeses from where it was selected for the final round of 14 cheeses. During this round, the 15 international judges from 11 countries on The Supreme Panel, chose a Cornish Blue as the World Champion for 2010”. Huguenot® won the Agri Expo Trophy for the Best South African cheese on the show.

Dalewood Fromage - A passion driven family business dedicated to producing quality cheese from the ground up. The origin of all cheese produced is Dalewood's own Jersey milk which makes it a genuine "Estate" product. Dalewood Fromage is an integral part of Dalewood Farm. It is an artisanal farmstead operation producing cheese from the ground up with the goal to handcraft. The source is Dalewood's own Jersey milk which makes it a genuine ESTATE cheese. Dalewood's unique recipe was formulated by Rob Visser who studied Dairy Technology under the guidance of renowned South African Norman Robertson. After years of experimenting, time in France sniffing out traditional cheese making secrets and countless cheese tastings the Wineland range was launched - inspired by the magic and romance of the surrounding vineyards.

The range of speciality cheese includes Brie, Camembert and Blue in different styles, shapes and sizes to suit any occasion. Last but not least is the Huguenot®; uniquely Dalewood, uniquely South African. Although the farm is not yet open for tasting or sales we do sell direct on a collection basis and by prior arrangement. The minimum purchase is one kilogram. Good to know Dalewood cheese can be made to order & ripened for any function or event. It is important to note that the sell-by date at the back of each cheese should be used as a ripeness guide. This date indicates a theoretical optimum ripeness which may be between 6 - 8 weeks of age depending on the type of cheese. To enhance flavour profile white mould cheese (Brie, Camembert & Blue) must be served at room temperature.

Because of its eco friendly approach to farming Dalewood is able to produce a natural product with no preservatives, no colourants and no flavourants and suitable for vegetarians. Dalewood cows never receive growth or milk production increasing hormones, neither do they receive any unnecessary antibiotics. Bottom line; the cows are happy and happy cows produce valuable, delicious milk, which in turn makes good cheese. We hope you'll taste the difference!