Cheesy Discoveries

I love cheese and am hugely proud of the wonderful cheese we produce in New Zealand, even if I can’t take credit for any of them myself.

So I headed along to the CheeseFest last week, to sample the winning cheeses from this year’s national awards.

However when I got there I found myself attracted, not to the winners, but to some great examples that were new to me although no necessarily new to market.

Here they are in no particular order:

1/ Rose’s Haloumi with rosemary – fresh out of the pan this was the tastiest morsel I’d had all day. It was too busy for me to be able to chat to the makers and sadly their website is completely devoid of any info except to tell me they also have a butchery.

Email them info@ayyildiz.co.nz or phone 2711383 for stockists

2/ Over the Moon black truffle brie by cheesemaker Neil Willman was delicious – for a truffle lover like me anyway. They have sandwiched brie with truffle paste (sadly imported from Italy) but who’s complaining – this is a perfect marriage.

3/ Gruff Junction 'Darfield' – nicknamed ‘Earthquake’ cheese for the layer of ash that runs through the centre of this pyramid shaped goat's milk cheese. When cut it forms a seismic-like line, hence the name.

4/ Waiheke Island Cheese 'Paniora' Manchego – we all agreed this was a very good rendition of this famous Spanish sheep’s cheese – nutty with a salty tang. They even use authentic Manchego moulds which give the weave pattern on the outside.

5/ Neudorf Mt Crusader – a handcrafted sheep’s milk cheese. This fresh soft cheese has a delicate flavour with just a hint of acidity – could serve it on toasts in a salad or with ripe stone fruits or berries for breakfast.  

And lastly…

6/ Clevedon Valley Buffalo Company Feta – a lovely creamy lightly salted feta which I immediately thought would be great melted and slightly caramelised.