Rennet happens, you’ll know
Dairy historians believe cheese was first accidently discovered around 8000 BC when sheep were first domesticated.
Needing something to store and transport sheep milk people used the watertight stomachs and bladders of animals (also the origin of the first footballs).
Without refrigeration the milk would ferment while the rennet enzymes, naturally present in animal stomachs, separated the curds from the whey producing….cheese!
Cheese became an important way to preserve milk and proto-cheesemakers were soon seeking out new sources of rennet to get things curdling.
In the Iliad, Homer suggests a fig juice extract was used to coagulate milk. Other rennet alternates included artichokes, dried caper leaves, nettles, thistles, mallow, ivy, Paneer Booti, aka Indian rennet, and phytic acid from unfermented soybeans.
Why the rennet rabbit-hole you ask? I was researching BoatShed Cheese, our cheesemakers of the month, and got waylaid – sorry, I’m really into cheese.
Anyway, Boatshed Cheese in Dromana are all about handmade French style soft goat, cow and buffalo cheeses.
Dairy farmers, Sarah and John Archard bought BoatShed Cheese from culinary legend Tamara Newing in 2020 after being unable to open own a cheesery on their Northern Victorian property because of local health regs.
Sarah says the Boatshed has given them the opportunity to make and sell their own cheeses and also teach their customers about cheese production hands-on.
Original cheesemaker Shaun Landman shares cheese-making duties with Becky Archard, Sarah and John’s daughter.
Becky discovered a passion for cheese-making while lending Shaun a hand during a uni break.
Completely hooked Becky left school and now takes care of cheese-production while Shaun looks after cheese-aging.
The delicious sum of their combined efforts finds its way into the Boatshed’s tasting room and the mouths of hungry locals and curious weekenders.
Becky’s Fresh Goat Curd is a great place to start- if you love marinated feta then you’ll love fresh goat curd – tasty, simple and super creamy, the jars have been flying out of the Fair Food warehouse as fast as they come in.
Next stop with your lavosh is Beach Box Brie, an earthy rich, oozy goozy golden, surface ripened, jersey milk brie – in the very top picture you can see Beach Box Brie curds coming out after fermentation.
Salty Dog Halloumi is the barbecue stopper (see it just above), grilled on skewers it’s a Boatshed tasting-room favourite – with a good beer or glass of white this is the best kind of salty chewy reward for your hungry mob.
After the Dog there’s Red Dawn, your semi-hard later-in-the-night kind of fare, a Spanish-style goat cheese that Becky soaks in Pinot noir for seven days before it goes to Shaun for aging.
And then finally for the cheese lover willing to go all-in, there’s Compass Washed Rind. Beginning life as a brie, Compass is washed for three weeks in a local whiskey, making for a complex, deliciously stinky sweet rind.
If you’re feeling the need to head to the Cheese Lovers section now you’ll find it right here.
Fair Food Birthday Comp
This week was our 13th birthday, and to celebrate we’re giving away two $150 prizes to spend within the CERES ecosystem 🐸
This prize can be spent at the following enterprises:
CERES Fair Food; get our organic groceries delivered to your door 🥕
CERES workshops and courses; learn how to garden, ferment, make cheese, keep bees and much more
CERES Nursery; there’s a whole green world in there as well as the best range of books
The Merri Cafe; coffee in edible cups and so many salads, so many savoury muffins
CERES Grocery and Bakery; imagine how many dark chocolate coated almonds and fresh baked croissants you could buy!
CERES Fair Wood; make your woodworking dreams a reality or stock up on sustainable firewood 🪵
Enter on instagram at @ceresfairfood
Winner drawn Monday 10th July. Good luck!
Have a great week
Chris
