Chinese Cheese

It has been almost two weeks since I arrived in China. This is my third visit to this country and this time I am truly going to learn the language. As I mentioned before this blog will turn into more of a food blog and less about cheese. At least until I go back to a country that has a substantial cheese culture. But for now a small post on Chinese Cheese.

Many times people ask me, why do Chinese don't eat cheese. The most common explanation is that there is no milk-drinking culture in most Asian countries and therefore people here are lactose intolerant. However, that explanation is incomplete, not only because there is a growing milk-drinking culture and has there been one for at least a decade, but also because most semi-aged and aged cheese have very small amounts of lactose. More important, I think is the lack of a culture that supports eating cheese. For the most part, Chinese food includes either rice or noodles as the staple and then sauce, meat, vegetables and other things are served on the side to make a full meal. If you think about it, cheese is not something that we eat just on the side as an add on flavor. Even when melted, cheese is a big part of the meal not just and added flavor. This translates in a culture with no cheese eating habit and obviously not a cheese making culture to sustain it.

Still, globalization is quickly changing all that. More and more, middle class Chinese families try to emulate the eating, drinking and consumer habits of the US and Europe. This has translated in more super markets and American fast food chains opening in China than any other market in the world, but also into new products being commercialized for Chinese consumption. Among them are wines, liquors, sodas, chocolates and slowly cheese. Unfortunately the cheese being commercialized are not small artisanal cheeses, but rather commercial cheese foods that are emulsified with flour, oil, and whey to make cheese spreads or slices. So far I have not seen in any supermarket any non-commercial cheese and obviously the local markets do not carry it either. What the markets do have is a large variety of tofu, which I hope to try and cook.

Nevertheless, with globalization also comes different ventures and there are currently at least two places that are starting to makes cheese in a more "traditional" style in China. I still haven't tried them, but here are links to find them. If you know of any other or have tried them please let me know. I hope I will try them both soon and have a full review of them.

Yunnan Goat's Milk Cheese
Shanxi Cow's Milk Cheese

Also a group of ex-pats in China are trying to introduce cheese and wine into the Chinese market. Here are two links to two societies that are interesting. I also haven't been able to contact them, but in time I hope I could see what they are all about.

Beijing Cheese Society event
Grape Wall of China Blog

Finally, I would like to talk about about cheese from the "other" side of the world. Let me start with my six hour trip to Amsterdam. In my way to China, my flight from Boston to Detroit to Shanghai got cancelled and in order to leave the US in time to beat the upcoming snow storms, I was put in a Boston-Amsterdam-Shanghai flight. This brief but enlightening trip to The Netherlands, corroborated my worries about cheese in Europe. As you may remember, during my trip to Paris a couple of weeks ago, I was discouraged by the amount of commercial cheese in supermarkets. This was the same situation in Amsterdam. All the places I went had, yes "dutch" cheese, but still all pre-packed and all were more than just rennet, milk and salt. Everything had a chemical additive.

I'm sure it has to do with the places I visited and this is the same everywhere, but to think that the consumers in theses markets in places like France, England and The Netherlands with real cheese cultures would settle for commercial cheese is really sad. In any case, to end on a positive note, I leave you with two of the latest post from David Labovitz who recently visit two Comte cheese facilities in the Jura region of France and in his writing you can totally sense the cheese culture when the cheese makers go back to eat breakfast.

Enjoy

Comte posts from David Lebovitz on Making and Ripening.

E Gourmet

Lactography is again on the field. Yes, we are teaching about artisanal Mexican cheese at this event. The event is a three weekend affair and we have cheeses from Chiapas, Queretaro and Chihuahua.

Apart from the educational program, in which we teach people how to taste, eat, cook and pair cheese, we are also selling some of the cheeses and providing information about the cheesemakers.

We are looking to raise awareness about the need to support local makers and seeking funds to help cheesemakers purchase new vats and tables for their facilities. We will have pictures on our new facebook page.

If you are in Mexico, please visit our stand and learn more about the awesome cheese produced in Mexico.

Cheese travels

I'm on the middle of a two-week trip to England and France. The primary purpose of the trip was to come judge the World Cheese Awards in Birmingham, England. This is the second time that I judge these awards and happily I was chosen again by the Guild of Fine Foods to be one of the fourteen International Supreme Judges.

The trip has been fantastic, not only because I got this great honor, but also because this was the first time that Mexican cheese participated in the competition.

It was such an experience to see the head global dairy buyers for Whole Foods and Tesco taste Queso de Bola de Ocosingo and give recommendations on how to improve the cheese.

The winner of the awards this year was Cornish Blue, a newish (10 yo in the market) cheese that easily took the top prize for England after a ten year wait.

Cornish Blue was so delicate, the paste so creamy and the veins of blue perfectly covering all the surface of the cheese. The rind looked rugged but gentle, like a beautiful rock that has been carefully washed away by the ocean. The smell was earthy, sweet and mineral. Truly a gorgeous blue cheese.

This year, I championed for the Supreme Judge panel a Camembert with breadcrumbs infused with Calvados. This was a really risky option, because this style of cheese is unique of flavored cheeses and people either hate it or love it. The piece that we tried was a perfect example of raw milk Camembert that was very lightly covered with breadcrumbs and the Calvados making the perfect balance. At the end my cheese divided the Supreme panel in two, with all the British judges hating it and all the rest of the international judges loving it. The South African and Japanese judges loved it so much that it got 5 points from them both.

At the end, I was happy to have chosen such a unique cheese and now understand the privilege of being a judge that mainly works in North America where tradition is being enhanced by innovation and an open palate.

Another great piece of news from the WCA is that my old friend Sarah Bates from Sheridan's Cheesemongers was chosen this year to be the Irish judge. Sarah is cheese royalty, being the daughter of Jeffa Gill maker of Durrus and the woman recognized as the mother of raw milk artisanal cheesemaking in Ireland. Sarah is the manager of Sheridan's in Galway and the number one person responsible for my career in cheese. You can see the video here.



I write from the Eurostar back from Paris to London. I hadn't been in France in eleven years and I found it ever so enchanting, even if a little depressed. Cheese adventures included the obvious trips to local cheese stores and a small tasting of cheeses that don't make it outside of Europe. I will post pictures and names once I get back to NYC and I can upload them from the camera.

The most surprising thing about cheese in France, or at least in the places that I visited in Paris, was the flooding of the market of bad commercial cheese.

I still can't understand why is this so, this being the most obvious place for good quality cheese. After talking to various people about it, including academics, chefs and expats, the only explanation is that the same depression that people have over a financial turn down, racial and ethnic tensions, and growing discontent with the government over proposed neoliberal reforms has made people also apathetic about food.

In bold terms, that quintessential French "joie de vivre" is being diluted. The way that I perceive it is by the selections people make and to me those over what cheese to eat are really important.

This is not a unique French situation, my friend Sarah mentioned the same thing going on in Ireland and just before coming on this trip I had the same feeling in New York. The only difference in the US being that there is truly a food revolution in the midst that I did not see in France, but that it's happening in England.

On other news, i am not smuggling cheese in my bag - yes, you read it well. I am not bringing any cheese back with me from France to England. Partially because nothing was left of the cheese that I bought for the tasting, but also because there is so much cheese waiting in England. Finally, cheese is about sharing for me, and I normally bring cheese back to share with loved ones, but this time I have a gorgeous travel companion who has been eating and enjoying with me.

Expo Chiapas 2010

I will be in Chiapas for this event. This will be the fourth time that I will be judging cheeses from Chiapas. The two cheeses from this state that are going to the World Cheese Awards will not be competing this time to allow other producers to have a shot.

The other cool thing about this Expo is that there are many small producers of artisanal foods from Chiapas and other states of Mexico. The event is really festive and I will be posting pictures that you can access in the feed.

Because the cheesemakers now have a lot of experience doing this type of events, we are also planning a small workshop on marketing and so my sister is coming with me as she has a small catering business and will start commercializing the winning cheeses in Mexico City.

Cave Aged - Semi-Mature

Today, the blog is one year old. So many adventures in this past year and so much new cheese.

I wanted to mark the day with a post on the lessons-learned and plans for the future. Instead, and because the risk of getting really sentimental worries me, I leave you with the promise of great new adventures.

In the next couple of days Lucy's Whey at the Chelsea Market will also be turning one year old and I will be traveling to Birmingham, England to judge the 2010 World Cheese Awards.

Thanks for following, reading, making comments and eating cheese.