Cheese making lessons from the University of Vermont, USA

In December I was sponsored by the Food & Beverage Development Fund SA to attend the Vermont institute of Artisan cheese (VIAC) in Burlington, Vermont, USA.. Vermont has at least 40 artisan cheese makers and the VIAC was set up by the University of Vermont to improve the skills of artisan cheese makers in Vermont, the US and world wide. Whilst there I undertook courses in Cheese defects and Affinage (Controlling maturation of Cheese). the presenters were Dr. Montse Alamena from Spain and Marc Druart Master Cheesemaker from France. The Affinage course in particular was full of excellent practical information that is not easily accessed in Australia or in cheese textbooks. Following the course I visited a number of Vermont cheesemakers. The highlight for me was visiting Jasper Hill Cheese. This is owned by Mateo and Andy Kehler. they make a range of raw and pasteurised milk cheese, but the really exceptional thing they do is run a maturing complex. They have built 7 maturing tunnels into the hillside and then covered the tunnels up with soil and rubble. The tunnels maintain the required 10-12C in Winter and only need slight cooling in Summer. Jasper Hill matures cheese for a number of companies and then the cheese is mareted under a single label. The majority of the cheese is cloth bound cheddar, with increasing quantities of bloomy rind and washed rind cheeses.

For anyone who loves cheese I thoroughly recommend a visit to Vermont
~ Wayne Austin, Shamrock Food State Manager SA and WA

For further information about Wayne's visit to Vermont and to learn more about Shamrock Food Ingredient's range of Cheese Starter Cultures plase contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it