Shanthini Naidoo speaks to a dairy connoisseur about Italian-style cheeses made in SA

Are there many varieties of Italian cheese to be found here? Not many varieties are made today. First-generation Italian cheesemakers who started out after World War 2 have all retired; secondand third-generation Italians living in South Africa don’t know these cheeses anymore. The main varieties are fior de latte mozzarella, pecorino, mascarpone and parmesan. How do ours compare to the imported cheeses? European cheeses are made all over the world today and vary greatly from those made in their home countries. Important factors such as milk quality and cheesemaking technique, equipment and culture are different in every country. Those made in South Africa are not bad, but different. They are really “Italian-style cheeses”. Are we really getting parmagiana reggiano in our restaurants and with pizza takeaways? Parmesan has become a generic name for hard, grating cheese. In South Africa imported Italian parmagiana reggiano is very expensive and I doubt if any restaurant can afford it on an ongoing basis. The top Italian restaurants, however, will use it. When an average restaurant claims to serve potato wedges with a parmesan crust, it is a locally made hard pecorino-style cheese. What about bocconcini (baby mozzarella)? Local bocconcini is as good as the imported. Try Zandam, Porto Bello and Cremona farms. Imported buffalo milk bocconcini is very expensive. What do we need to know about Italian cheese? The cookbooks and Italian TV chefs have taught us a lot. One thing, the mozzarella used on pizza is not Italian. It is a product developed in the US for the pizza trade during the 1970s and is really a pizzarella, low moisture and low fat in order to grate more easily. Italian cheesemakers make some short shelf-life cheeses, such as fior de latte, but mostly long shelf-life cheeses such as grana padano and parmesan. Any tips on storage? Buy smaller quantities of more varieties, keep cheese in a plastic bag in the bottom of the fridge and eat it quickly! Do you have a favourite cheese? My favourite Italian cheeses are montasio (soft) and taleggio (semi-soft). ...................................................... In his book, ‘Cheeses of South Africa: Artisanal Producers and their Cheeses’ (Sunbird), Kobus Mulder profiles 24 local producers of dairy delicacies.