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Food Focus June 2009

Neudorf’s winning whey

A cheese company that controls production from the paddock to the plate has scooped the New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s new cheese award.

Neudorf Dairy’s Rawhide was named the New Zealand Food Safety Authority Champion New Cheese at the Cuisine New Zealand Champion of Cheese awards.

Entrants had to show they complied with relevant food safety laws. Judges then selected the category winner based on the cheese’s aroma, flavour, texture and body, appearance and rind development.

Brian and Sharon Beuke have been farming sheep on their picturesque 380 hectare property near Upper Moutere, Nelson for over 35 years.

They got into cheesemaking in 2005 - building a purpose-built factory onsite - after the cheesemaker they supplied milk to shut up shop.

Head cheesemaker Fiona Guyan joined the company in late 2005, having spent seven years learning the trade on European farms.

She had only ever made one batch of sheep’s milk cheese before starting work at Neudorf, but was quickly converted.

“It’s much thicker and creamier than cows’ and goats’ milk and has a higher proportion of milk solids, which reduces the making time,” she says.

“It also has a lovely sweetness and a beautiful yellow colour that gets deeper and deeper with age.”

On a good day, Neudorf Dairy’s 600 East Friesian sheep produce about 500 litres of milk, which is pumped into the factory, pasteurised and made into one of six varieties of cheese.

Soft cheeses can be eaten the next day, but some of the harder cheeses are kept in a ripening cellar for a little over two years before they are ready.

Control from paddock to plate

Fiona says having the farm onsite means she and her two assistants have greater control over every stage of production, from paddock to plate.

She says the idea of milking sheep is still very new to Kiwis, and the lower milk yield stops more people from producing sheep milk products.

The young company has had a golden run. In addition to the NZFSA Best New Cheese award, Neudorf Dairy has won best washed rind cheese in 2006 and 2007, and sheep’s milk cheese in 2008, along with six gold medals and one silver medal at various Champion of Cheese awards.

Fiona says the semi-firm Rawhide cheese, which is sold at Nelson’s Saturday markets, speciality cheese shops, and cafes and restaurants throughout the country, is aged for six months and has a hard, stone-coloured rind and smooth, creamy centre.

“I’d serve it with something simple, some fresh crusty bread and grapes or sliced pears. It has a very subtle flavour which you don’t want to mask.”

The company changed hands since the awards ceremony, with husband and wife team Michael Smith and Barbara Hewitt taking over the reins.

Michael is keen to continue Neudorf Dairy’s success, and increase production - still using milk provided by the Beukes’ herd of sheep.

“We want to retain the high quality product, get the sheep’s milk volume up and start looking at other cheese varieties as well,” he says.