It used to be quite simple. When I took my first tentative steps towards cheese as a career, finding information wasn't that hard. There were great cheese books to read, colleagues to mentor me, suppliers who introduced wonderful new cheeses, and even a major TV series devoted to the world of cheese. Back then, it was simply about "which region is this from?", "is it made from sheep's or goat's milk?" and "what's the best way to cut and wrap this little baby?"
More than six years on, my cheese world is now a very different place. There are still some great books, but most are British or American with very little Australian content. The colleagues are still there - some near, some far away - but now it's the younger fromage-o-philes asking me stuff. And as for suppliers, well . . . there are exceptions, but many of them can't even pronounce the cheese names properly.
Blame it on my science background, but the more I learn about cheese, the more complex my questions have become.
This blog will be a place for me to share some answers to the sorts of questions other cheese people like me might have. The sorts of questions that can't be answered by suppliers or books, but which require a little more in-depth research and "back to the source" investigation. Such as, How can some cheese-makers claim their non-animal rennet is GMO-free? What's the difference between unpasteurised and raw? and Are starter cultures to blame for lack of flavour variety in Australian white moulds?
I'll also dabble in a bit of home cheese-making and the occasional cheese travelogue.
So, join me as I seize the day (and the cheese) and continue on my quest for cheese knowlege.
