A CHEESY AFFAIR
Artisanal cheese in India
Introducing a new product line to any market is hard; but what is twice as hard is creating a whole consumer trend for it, and hopefully a lasting one. In this case, it is international styles of cheese for the Indian market — an unfamiliar culture here.
For the well-travelled Indian palate, many believe that taste of most alcohol, cheese and chocolate varieties, common to European countries cannot be reproduced in India, let alone match the quality. Understanding such prejudices helps one empathise with Indian cheese producers. Despite putting quality produce on the shelf, they have had a hard time dealing with scepticism arising from consumer unawareness. This is simply because the cheese is made in India, a country not known to have produced the item before the 21st century, except for cottage cheese or paneer.
Having said that, what we need is a reminder that dairy has always been an important revenue stream for India. Currently, we produce about 400 million litres of milk a day. And so it isn’t really that much of a “mozzarella stretch” that we make cheese or should be making cheese. The truth is that Indian cheese no longer just starts and stops with paneer.
We have Amul, the first known Indian company to make its version of Cheddar cheese in the 1960s. Many have followed since — Britannia, Gowardhan and Mother Dairy. These homegrown giants are best known for their packaged processed Cheddar, mozzarella and cream cheese.
Euromonitor, a London-based market researcher reports that in 2014, India’s retail cheese sales were 47,600 tons — generating about US$244 million. In December 2016, it stated: “Over the forecast period the cheese category [in India] is expected to see a constant value CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 12 per cent to reach `41 billion (about US$637 million) in 2021.” The main factors contributing to this are the increased use of paneer, easy availability of cheese varieties and rising levels of disposable income.
As for artisanal cheese, its market share, as of now, is less than a mere fraction of India’s total cheese production. Even 0.5 per cent seems like too high a number to compute its production quantity, and there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on just how much of it is actually being produced here, since the figures are so fragmented.
India is at the edge of an artisanal cheese revolution and its proof couldn’t be more apparent than in the taste of the proverbial cheese pudding. By that measure, Indian artisanal cheese producers have done phenomenally well to create a product that is just so delicious, and in most cases, comparable to what is produced internationally. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that in a blind tasting most people will not be able to tell the difference between an Indian and international Emmenthal.
THE AUDIENCE
Most chefs and savvy consumers are now accepting of (and some even prefer) sourcing or eating local. Farm to fork is a very real concept that has become a rage in top tier Indian cities. Unfortunately, this adjustment seems to be more rampant at stand-alone restaurants
rather than hotel chains. Chefs of the former are at the forefront of transforming culinary trends in India and have a big role to play in boosting the local cheese revolution by putting it on their menus, thus creating awareness.
Consumer behaviour, especially among the youth has changed significantly in urban areas. Further, there are more expats in India now than ever before — some may crave the stuff they get back home, and others may want to buy local produce. Then we have the well-travelled Indian who has tasted good cheese abroad and would be delighted to find those here. Then you have the “foodie”hatched from sincere interest, coupled with a binge diet of
MasterChef Australia, and the like, who wants to try everything they’ve seen or heard of in the culinary world. Artisanal cheese produced in India is the answer to these wants.
The good folks at Food Safety and Standards Authority of India have made importing of some kinds of cheese difficult due to outdated labelling laws that international companies refuse to adhere to. This, along with the fact that the cheese produced here is actually good is giving Indian cheese producers an opportunity to shine. Modern retail stores like Godrej Natures Basket
(naturesbasket.co.in) and Foodhall (foodhallonline. com) to name a few, not only offer shelf space for local artisanal cheese, but also samples to shoppers who prefer trying before buying.
THE PRODUCERS
ABC Farms (abcfarms.com) has been producing and selling natural hard and soft, processed and goat cheese since 30 years. These multiply into “over 70 varieties of cheese from aged Cheddar to French, after-dinner cheese ripened in wood ash or charcoal, and a buffalo mozzarella or even a blue cheese”. Its cheese factory in Koregaon Park (open 6am-9pm) is attached to a retail store from where one can sample and buy its produce.
The Spotted Cow Fromagerie in Mumbai has a collection of cheese that it says are “frightfully” close to certain French and Italian cheese.
The Spotted Cow Fromagerie (thespottedcow.in) in Mumbai has a collection of cheese that it says are “frightfully”close to certain French and Italian cheese. These are Bombrie (styled like Brie), Camebay (styled like Camembert) and Rombay (styled like Robiola). It has flavoured cheese that include caramelised hazelnuts, chives and herbs. Addressing the limited knowledge most of us have about this food, its website educates visitors on cheese, besides sharing pairing options for each variety.
Another one is Eleftheria, a micro creamery in Mumbai, whose European-inspired cheese collection is preservative-free, and includes types of mozzarella and burrata. It doesn’t have a website, but its Facebook page (facebook.com/EleftheriaCheese) has delicious photos of its creations with sumptuous, cheesy recipes.
Himalayan Products (himalayancheese.com) is a cheese company run by a Dutchman in Srinagar, who uses knowledge from his heritage in the making of Gouda and Cheddar. He also has the regional Kalari cheese, which I will speak about later. Its Gouda comes in a variety of flavours — cumin, chilli and fenugreek to name a few.
Its creations include chilli chèvre, aged Gruyere, raw buffalo milk queso fresco and hard Chhurpi to name a few. If some of these sound alien to you, The Cheese Collective (facebook.com/TheCheeseCollective) holds cheese appreciation and pairing workshops. Once we’ve learnt the basics, some of the other workshops include making customised cheese platters, gift baskets and setting up cheese tables for parties.
La Ferme Cheese Co is an initiation by Auroville in Puducherry (auroville.org) with a team of 25 Dutch people and Italians. It uses environment-friendly, traditional cheese-making methods, adapted to South Indian climate — pasteurisation is with biogas, water is pumped by a windmill, waste water is recycled, and milk is sourced from Auroville’s cows and those from neighbouring farms. One won’t find traces of artificial flavours or colours, and emulsifiers in its products that include Lofabu (compared to Gouda), Swissly (compared to a sharp Pyrenee cheese), Gruyere, Parmesan and mozzarella.
We even have a few Benedictine monks of the Vallombrosian Order who produce good burrata and supply to eateries in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. While their purpose is to “spend time in contemplation”, they need to sustain themselves too. And so ten years ago they got in touch with their Italian counterparts and learnt how to make cheese, which they sell by the name of Vallombrosa (vallombrosacheese.com).
HOME CREATIONS
It was news to me when I stumbled upon India’s indigenous cheese. These include Chhupri made from cow’s and yak’s milk, more commonly found in the regions of Sikkim and Darjeeling; Kalimpong, which can be compared to Gouda, is from its namesake hill station of West Bengal; and the traditional Kalari, common to the province of Jammu is made from cow’s, buffalo’s or goat’s milk.Visit any local grocer in these parts for a box of your own regional cheese.
Like everything that has just started in India, lots more experimentation is required. These are exciting times, simply because the bold few have decided to take this up in a market that is nascent. I don’t know about you but I am going to celebrate ending this article tonight with a platter of artisanal Indian cheese and a bottle of Indian wine, both of which I know will be delicious.