Friday, 19 May 2023 08:55

Sheep, goat milk cheeses win supreme awards

Written by  Staff Reporters
Goat Milk cheese from Cartwheel Creamery won two trophies. Goat Milk cheese from Cartwheel Creamery won two trophies.

Cheeses made from sheep and goat milk featured in the 2023 Champion of Cheese awards.

Manawatu-based Cartwheel Creamery took home two trophies: Puhoi Valley Champion of Champions (Boutique) for its Cartwheel Creamery Opiki Ma; and CHR Hansen Champion Soft-Ripened Cheese, also for Cartwheel Creamery, Opiki Ma.

Made with goat milk, Opiki Ma is a soft, white mould cheese - traditionally called a camembert-style - with a hint of mushroom flavours and a melting texture with lingering flavour.

According to Cartwheel Creamery website, the goat milk comes from Fraser Farm in Opiki, which has a cut and carry system for 700 lively Saanen goats who are housed indoors.

It says the milk is pasteurised using a gentle batch process to ensure the maximum goodness of the raw milk is retained. Only cheese cultures, rennet and salt are added to the milk to produce young cheeses that naturally mature to develop a complex flavour profile that varies with seasons.

Family-owned Waikato cheese company, Meyer received two trophies: dish Champion Sheep Milk Cheese for its Meyer Cheese, Sheep Milk Gouda; and New World Champion of Champions (mid-sized) for its Meyer Cheese, Fenugreek.

Meyer has been a regular on the winner's podium over the past 20 years amassing dozens of trophies. It's the third year in a row they have won the Farmhouse Champion - an accolade which recognises the cheesemaker that makes its cheese on the same site as it milks its flock.

After the assessing the cheese the judging panel commented, "A lovely cheese, lovely appearance with seeds... Flavour is lovely, almost a honey flavour and sweet curry. Also lovely creamy balance."

More like this

How to handle CAE

Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) is a disease of goats caused by a virus.

Focus on cheesemaking

Jill Walcroft says there was a certain attraction in running their own business and interacting with people as opposed to writing science papers.

Featured

Editorial: Time for common sense

OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).

National

DairyNZ Farmers Forum underway

Over 300 farmers and rural professionals have gathered in Hamilton for the first DairyNZ Farmers Forum for this year.

Machinery & Products

Shearing legend hooked on CanAm

Sir David Fagan, world-renowned competitive sheep shearer with 642 shearing titles worldwide and a knighthood to his name, now runs…

50 years of tractor pull

This year, the Fieldays Tractor Pull, in association with PTS Logistics, mark a major milestone – 50 years of crowd-thrilling…

The Wrangler's birthday bash

It's the Wrangler Limited’s 30th birthday and to celebrate the milestone a prototype of the E Series Wrangler - a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Free speech

OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.

Drug survey

OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter