This year, Pecora Dairy is again in the spotlight for its raw milk cheese, Yarrawa, which has been nominated as a National Finalist in the 2023 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards. Here, Pecora Dairy cheesemaker Cressida Cains explains everything you need to know about raw milk cheese.
“The type of raw milk cheese we make has no heat treatment to the milk,” Cains says. “The raw milk comes from the udder of the animal, in our case sheep, then it goes into a vat where we add a small amount of culture to start the acidification of the milk to produce the cheese. Pecora Dairy was the first in Australia licensed to produce this particular type of raw milk cheese.”
“Raw milk cheese in Australia is very safe to eat,” Cains says. “The law requires us to test every batch of cheese at an external lab. It’s a very scientific process. We’re testing for listeria and pathogens, and the pH salt content and water content of the cheese is carefully managed. It’s a very precise and rigorous process, which ensures it is very safe for consumers.”
“Both cooked and uncooked curd cheese start out the same way, that is, cultures are added to raw milk,” Cains explains. “It’s just that with cooked curd cheeses, the cheesemaker heats the curds and whey. Whereas in an uncooked curd cheese, like Pecora Dairy’s Yarrawa, there’s no heat treatment whatsoever. The curds are formed, moulded and pressed into shape, ready for ageing.”
“The indigenous microbes, all the good bacteria, are still in the milk,” Cains says. “They haven’t been damaged by pasteurisation, which makes it a complete reflection of the terroir – the time, the place, the soil, the environment and the macro and micro-factors that influence that. Terroir can’t be replicated. It’s a wine term, but we talk about it in this instance in regards to milk. It’s influenced by the rainfall, the sunshine, the elements and all the bacteria and the local ecosystem. All of these factors influence what will end up in the vat.”
“We take a very restrained approach to cheesemaking,” Cains says. “We use very little culture, because our philosophy is to let the cheese speak for itself. The skill of a cheesemaker is about knowing how to respond as the milk changes throughout the season, and having an understanding of the science of cheesemaking.”
“Everything in commercial cheese is standardised and uses the same cultures,” Cains explains. “Raw milk cheese is even more special here, because it’s groundbreaking for Australia. Ours is the first raw milk cheese of its kind. It’s a cheese that is not able to be replicated, because it has all these unique flavour profiles.”
