With homegrown artisanal cheesemakers bringing the ball game has changed and gastronomes have started to move over the usual process cheese to some fine small-batch cheese that are all about embracing local flavours
Anthony Bourdain once said “You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese." And that stands true till for many of us the more you invest the better it gets. With Indian brands producing local versions of European cheeses, along with some uniquely Indian flavours, the ones that pair well with regional foods, the country’s artisanal cheese revolution has truly taken off. Think, Indian mozzarella, gouda, parmesan, kalari, chenna, chhurpi and more each whether made in the highlands of Kashmir to monks churning out fresh buffalo milk cheese in South India, from the looks of it, one surely knows it is here to stay.
Begum Victoria, an artisanal cheese brand by fromagers Shruti Golchha, Pooja Reddy, and Chef Manu Chandra claims to have 100% vegetarian cheeses along with all their feta, fontina, manchego, etc. The cheese that’s handcrafted with all traditional techniques and A2 milk is used Begum Victoria focusses on aged cheese that’s available from several days to years. On the other hand Mumbai-based creamery The Spotted Cow Fromagerie, started by the young and enthusiast Mehra brothers, Prateeksh and Agnay they clearly say “Until few years back we were still exploring the market dynamics. It took much of an effort in explaining people and telling them about our artisanal products, but thankfully today we have come to the point where we sell about a tonne of cheese in a month. Our ‘Tomme de Bombai’ which an take the ‘Tomme de Savoie’, the oozy semi-firm with thick brownish-grey rind and the is aged for two months while the ‘Bombrie’ and the ‘Camembay’ are few of the hot-selling ones.
Talking of homegrown cheese Father KL Michael who hails from Kottayam, Kerala name comes as a pioneer who has recreated the Italian cheese-making process in India, Bengaluru to be precise. Until a few years back it was just the imported cheeses that found themselves placed only in a handful of speciality stores and of course not to mention they were also expensive. But fortunately, over the years the cheese space has seen quite a revolution. The very interesting organic Himalayan cheese brand Amiksha started by Frenchman, François Laederich and his Assamese wife, Debarati boasts of the fact how finding their home in the hills they found this new love for cheese and rest is history. Debarati adds “our handcrafted cheese is absolutely inspired by the French and other European classics. Right from the quality of the milk that comes from the grass-fed cows that are hand-milked every morning to production each thing is very well taken care so that high quality graded cheese sis maintained. Each of our cheese have a very unique characteristics; flavours and textures. From the Gruyère that’s a 6 months+ pine wood aged cheese to Fontina, a rather young cheese with mild flavours to Zuri, a much soft, creamy textured cheese with a soft rind my husband absolutely makes sure that cheese being a novelty product it to much precision. We even organise an Artisanal cheese making course which my husband personally conducts. It has seen a pretty good response over the period of time”.
The homegrown cheese boasts of being free of preservatives, chemicals or emulsifiers, and having a texture that will stay for long in your taste buds. Be it the Greek-style feta, gouda, and any other these gorgeous cheeses are pretty inviting. Another pretty well-known cheese brand from the far off hills of Kumaon is the Darima Farms, co-founded in 2016 by Saurabh Vinayak and Arvind Chawla. “We began with just five cows and three cheese-makers but today as we see the Indian market I feel the artisanal cheese market is currently at a cusp of rapid growth, fuelled by people desire to be more conscious of what they consume. The pandemic has supported the consciousness of people of being drawn towards local, sustainable and pure brands of food items. People value quality over quantity, price is no more the primary indicator of selecting a product” adds Chawla.
Farm to table-
The changing urban lifestyle and the rise local artisan cheeses a boost are directly proportional. Chef Akshay Bhardwaj, Head chef Andaz a concept by Hyatt Aerocity complex adds “Home grown cheese is a different market as well a different product and is getting an exponential demand as you are not bound to something that is regular. It’s more about being tasty and feelable at the same time. To create a niche, to create awareness and to support sustainability all compiled together by keeping the guest taste and dish in mind I see they are great for the table. At AnnaMaya we do a goat milk paneer tikka which stands strong with brand keeping the artisanal produce curated in a beautiful yet a interpretable dish served to our guest" .
As one digs into that satisfying bite with that perfectly done natural rind and equally cutting into the crust and the golden interior it’s sure that the local artisan have found their calling and are doing it with much confidence. It’s time to Say Cheese the desi way.
