4 Nations Cheese Platter

The 4 nations in the 2015 Rugby World Cup semi-final matches are: Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa.

Assemble a cheese platter with a selection of cheeses and fruit from each of the 4 countries.

The top 10 Australian cheeses

Holy Goat ‘La Luna’ Needs no introduction, having developed a cult following. In my mind Carla & Ann-Marie are Australia’s best cheesemakers, and La Luna is Australia’s most consistently great cheese. Absolute attention to detail, from the land the animals graze to the packaging of the final cheese. Immaculate.

Fromart ‘Devils Foot’ Unique hard cheese handmade with the milk of a single herd of Jersey cows by Christian Nobel in Eudlo, Queensland. Well balanced, sweet and savoury flavours are complemented with a creamy but open texture.

Tongola ‘Billy’ Impeccable farmhouse cheese made by Hans & Esther with the milk of their 30 organically reared Toggenburg goats. Beautiful rind formation (you can tell it’s made by Swiss expats) that looks and smells ‘alive’ instead of deadened by over-zealous use of chlorine based cleaning products. Strong, nutty, farmy goat’s milk flavours.

Piano Hill ‘Ironstone’ Ok, fair enough, the Brown family stopped making this bio-dynamic cheese nearly 2 years ago, but this was an example of a totally unique Australian farmhouse cheese. The 9 month cheeses were creamy and sweet, but if you found the 18 month cheese your month would be entertained by complex, butterscotch, caramel and fruity flavours and a dense texture speckled with the crunch of pure amino acid clusters. A tragic loss for Australian farmhouse cheesemaking.

Bruny Island ‘Oen’ Nick Haddow is one of the few Australian artisanal cheesemakers actively fighting to be able to make raw milk cheese and has achieved that with his C2. His cheeses have unique flavours that you won’t find anywhere else – the Oen is washed in a mix of brine and a local pinot noir, before being wrapped in pinot noir vine leaves.

Shaw River Buffalo Mozzarella No, it doesn’t achieve the heights of Italian DOP buffalo mozzarella, but this farmhouse producer gives it a good shot. One bite into the ‘crayfish’ like texture releases the lactic, milky sweet flavours.

Healy’s ‘Pyengana’ One of Australia’s oldest cheeses, Pyengana has been going for about 100 years. Still made using the traditional stirred-curd recipe, it is a cheddar-style cheese. Still in its 16 kilo, cloth wrapped wheels, since 1995 they have had to pasteurise the milk and now use a proprietary blend of DVI cultures. A new cheesemaker started 2 years ago, so the recipe is changing, but from what I hear some good looking cheeses are coming our way.

Ballycroft ‘Broch’ Tracy at Ballycroft must be the smallest commercial cheesemaker in Australia. Her 50 litre vat is filled with buckets of fresh milk from one local farm and almost everything she makes is sold at the local Barossa farmers market. She is actively trying to legally make a raw milk cheese and makes unique cheeses to her own recipes. The Broch is a hard, natural rinded cheese with nutty, gruyere style flavours.

Barossa Valley ‘Le Petit Prince’ This unusual brick shaped washed rind goat’s milk cheese is made by Victoria McClurg in Angaston. When the milk is good and the bacteria in the maturation room is strong this cheese can develop a wonderful two tone effect – the lactic, tart firm interior is balanced with the more savoury, complex creamy breakdown closer to the rind.

Holy Goat ‘Pandora’ I had to throw in another Holy Goat cheese, partly because I was struggling to think of another producer that I am really excited by, and partly because it is another completely unique Australian farmhouse cheese. Slice off the top to reveal the gooey goodness inside!

Cheese from Argentina

There are two distinct paradigms of cheeses from Argentina that are in a league of their own- Sardo and Reggianito. The younger, less complex Sardo is a firm hard grated cheese made out of cow’s milk which is similar to both Italian and Pecorino Romano. It compels a taste that is not overwhelming layered, rather hearty and slightly salty. Individually grating by the chunk is usually the best option to serve Sardo when considering a fresh salad preparation or a light fare such as soup, steamed vegetables or starches such as a baked potato. Sardo is crafted by the congealing of small animal rennet- which is a enzyme used for breaking down maternal milk. The animal rennet in this case mainly comes from baby calves.

Click the link for Cheese from New Zealand

The New Zealand Cheese Trail

15 South African cheeses everyone should try

Beaconsfield Halloumi Made in the Karoo from sheep milk, this mildly salty halloumi is especially delicious when fried, or rolled up in aubergine slices with rocket and red peppers. Beaconsfield makes small volumes at this stage, which you can buy from The Real Cheese.

Belnori Feta This boutique cheesery near Bapsfontein in Gauteng makes the highly regarded ash-covered Phantom Forest and the soft Highvelder, but it’s the goat’s milk feta that won silver in the 2009 World Cheese Awards. Firm and creamy, Belnori feta comes in plain, Greek herb, pepper and lavender rounds.

Buffalo Ridge Mozarella Winner in the dairy (cheese) category at the 2012 Eat In DStv Food Network Produce Awards, this mozzarella has a delicate and creamy flavour.

Cremalat Gorgonzola A family business, Cremalat in Johannesburg produces a range of Italian-style cheeses, but this ultra-creamy blue is a firm favourite. It has been served on cheeseboards at restaurants.

Dalewood Huguenot Made using pastured milk from a sleek Jersey herd in the Cape Winelands, this semi-hard cheese with a brushed rind style is matured for at least six months to produce its golden colour and beautifully nutty character.

Fairview Blue Rock This creamy blue-veined cheese with a strong salty flavour and smooth texture received a gold award and was named Best South African Cheese at the 2012 World Cheese Awards.

Fairview Roydon Camembert The cheesery’s flagship cheese, Roydon Camembert, is crafted from cow’s milk using a traditional French method, with a dash of goat’s milk. It was a first prize winner at the 2010 South African Dairy Championships and winner of a Qualité award in 2012.

Klein River Gruyere This slightly grainy and tangy cheese is made just outside Stanford, and comes in young (3 months) and mature (6 months) versions. It tastes great with onion marmalade, according to Jo of Cheese Gourmet .

Pépé Buche by Pépé Charlot Cheese Maker All cheese makers are passionate by necessity, but this one nurses his cheeses as if they were ‘little birds’. Using raw goat’s milk in a cheesery in Craighall Park, Pépé Charlot Cheese Maker won the 2013 Eat Out DStv Food Network Produce Award in the dairy (cheese) category.

Simonsberg Traditional Cream Cheese A fridge staple, this cream cheese can be used for anything from decadent cheesecakes to smearing inside a sandwich before grilling. It also comes in flavours such as spring onion and chives, smoked ham, sweet Thai chilli, tangy nustard, lemon and black pepper and creamy blue cheese.

Swissland Brie Made in a quaint Swiss-style chalet in KwaZulu-Natal from goat’s milk, Swissland brie is a favourite of Jackie Cameron, chef at 2012 Top 10 restaurant Hartford House, as well as Valerie from Real Cheese. It makes a tasty starter if lightly crumbed, fried and accompanied with a sweet preserve or simply enjoyed with crackers and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Swissland won the 2011 Eat In Produce Award for Best Dairy.

Parmalat Woolworths Vintage cheddar Winner of a 2012 Qualité award this sharp and intense beauty is matured for 18 months. Nutty and complex with a creamy and slightly crumbly texture, its calcium lactate crystals give that pleasantly tingling sensation in the mouth. Delicious on its own, it’s also a killer sandwich topping.

Puglia Burrata This handmade mozzarella ball is filled with ripped mozzarella soaked in double cream. Jo from Cheese Gourmet recommends serving it shredded on a bed of fresh baby leaves with tomato (maybe drizzled with good quality olive oil and spooned onto crusty bread?), or you could let it ooze out over your warm pasta or crisp pizza. The burrata won its category at the 2011 South African Dairy Championships, bronze at World Cheese Awards and a 2012 Qualité Award.

Van der Poel Gouda As far from a rubbery supermarket round as you can imagine, this mild and milky 6-months matured gouda is a great table cheese. Cheese Gourmet’s Jo recommends it with crispy roll and tangy pickles.

Zandam Mascarpone This cheese regularly places in the top three of the South African Dairy Championships (third in 2009; second in 2010; first in 2011; third in 2012). Zandam mascarpone Its ultra-rich creaminess is a treat in desserts or served simply with figs drizzled in syrup.

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