Pyengana Cloth Cheddar
Origin: TasmaniaMilk: Cow
Type: Hard
Flavour: Sweet, Nutty, Bitey
Texture: Fine & crumbly.
Pyengana Cheddar is made by hand in north-eastern Tasmania using fresh Tassie milk from their own modest herd of Holsteins. Building on a dairying history of 130 years in the region, Pyengana Dairy has evolved to combine the best of traditional techniques and modern innovation to create their award-winning farmhouse cheddar.
One such innovation is that the Pyengana cows are able to decide their own milking frequency by taking themselves on a short walk to the dairy and through a milking robot, before being rewarded with a back rub.
Apart from this robotic milking and pasteurisation of the milk, Pyengana Cheddar is made according to traditional, handmade techniques that date back to the turn of the century.
This Aussie cheese stands strongly among the iconic European cheeses. As a farmstead cheese, all product is made from the herd on the farm where the cheese is produced. The wheels are created and then wrapped in muslin cloth to protect the surface of the cheese. Each wheel is then sealed with lard to prevent it from drying out. It is rubbed and turned each week, and then matured in the cellar under the cheese factory in a cave like environment. Natural air ventilation is used to draw cool air 1 km down an underground tunnel to maintain a consistent temperature and an ideal environment for maturing cheddar cheese.
Matured for a minimum of 18 months during which time the wheels develop a fine textured, crumbly body, along with aromas reminiscent of summer grass, herbs and honey, and a long, sweet and nutty flavour