Victoria’s first raw milk cheese
Moyarra Reserve is a semi-hard sheep’s milk cheese made by Prom Country Cheese in Moyarra, South Gippsland. This historical cheese is the first commercially available raw milk cheese made in Victoria in almost 80 years.
For many years now, Burke and Bronwyn Brandon have been trying to make cheeses that truly celebrate the unique quality of their ewe’s milk.
Cultures from the Venus Blue
Initially, they isolated the microbial cultures that live in their raw milk in a laboratory. They then added those cultures back to pasteurised milk to make their signature cheese, the Venus Blue.
This process means that the Venus Blue has qualities that are unique to their farm.
A team effort
Working together with like-minded industry partners, the couple successfully lobbied the local regulators for the introduction of new food safety regulations.
Those regulations would allow the production of raw milk cheeses in Australia, albeit under very strict guidelines.
Burke and Bronwyn spent two years developing a new cheese that would meet those requirements. In order to do so, they had to upgrade their food safety plan and procedures.
In March 2020, the regulators finally granted them approval to produce a specific raw milk cheese. Their milk would have to pass strict hygiene testing and come from only healthy udders.
Meet Moyarra Reserve
For Moyarra Reserve, the ewe’s milk and curds are not cooked (pasteurised) at any stage of the process.
Instead, a pre-ripened mother culture is added right back at the dairy, as the raw milk flows from the udders into the vat.
Very strict requirements
Furthermore, all of their equipment has to be sanitised, including the ewes’ teats prior to milking. A mixture of morning and evening milk is immediately transferred to the cheesemaking vat to be warmed back to body temperature.
The wheels of cheese must meet a maximum moisture percentage limit before being hand salted with sea salt for the next 3 days. For this reason, Moyarra Reserve must be matured at 12°c for over 5 months. At that point, it has to pass extensive final lab testing to guarantee it is safe to eat.
A celebration of terroir
The end product is a cheese that could not possibly be made anywhere else in the world. Producing such a raw milk cheese is certainly made expensive by all the restrictions currently in place in Australia. However, Burke and Bronwyn firmly believe that it is well worth it.
Farmhouse cheesemakers are best equipped to make raw milk cheeses in Australia because they are in full control of every step of the process. They can ensure that the milk quality and manufacturing processes all meet the brief that has been laid out by the food authorities.
How to enjoy Moyarra Reserve
At 5 months, the cheese develops a thin rusty-red coloured rind that wraps around a straw-coloured pâte. Moreover, the aroma is a little bit wild and the texture is reminiscent of the famous French sheep’s milk cheese, Ossau-Iraty.
On the palate, this stellar cheese is savoury with some notes of caramel and a subtly spicy finish. Furthermore, the edible rind adds a bit of crunch and has more concentrated earthy flavours.
Enjoy with a crunchy baguette, some extra virgin olive oil and smoked dukkah. Pair with a sweet Riesling or Sauternes.
What next?
So, where does all of that leave us? Raw milk cheeses certainly provide the best way to let the milk shine with minimal intervention. Having said that, it does not mean that all raw milk cheeses are better than pasteurised milk cheeses. There are some spectacular artisanal pasteurised milk cheeses out there, both made locally and imported.
Without a doubt, Moyarra Reserve is a landmark cheese for Victoria. We can expect it to pave the way for many more raw milk cheeses. And we can not wait!
