The Month in Cheese
This month Fair Food’s resident turophile, Isabelle Fouard, is taking our tastebuds on a trip up to the Sunshine Coast to visit the Woombye Cheese Company.
Not many people know the town of Woombye, including many Sunshine Coast residents. Even fewer have heard of its eponymous cheese company, although since its Blackall Gold Washed Rind was awarded Best Cheese in Australia a few more locals might be looking it up on Google Maps.
This August Isabelle Fouard has chosen five of the Woombye Cheese Company’s best, including Blackall Gold*, as her selection for Cheesemaker of the Month!
Woombye Cheese Company is a small operation, owner Beth O’Leary, cheesemaker Stefan Wilson and a few extra bods produce all of their cheese by hand at their Woombye property
Stefan Wilson began making his first batches of Blackall Gold ten years ago and it’s been Stefan’s consistent presence and great milk from their Maleny dairy that Beth O’Leary credits Woombye’s success.
Winning gold medals at Royal Queensland and Royal Sydney Cheese Awards put the cheesemaking world on notice but taking out the grand champion cheese at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards took Blackall Gold to another level all together.
Judge’s were fulsome in their praise, commenting that this is as good a cheese as you’ll find anywhere in the world.
Blackall Gold is a labour-intensive cheese based on a camembert that’s washed four times over 18 days to give the rind its texture, taste and that distinctive orange colour.
Starting out quite mild while young Blackall Gold ripens and develops that famous funky washed rind flavour and aroma.
Woombye isn’t a one-trick pony however, not to be outdone its super smooth, extra creamy Ash Triple Cream Brie won Champion White Mould Cheese at the Australian Grand Dairy Awards.
Ashed soft cheeses, like so many things in cheesey evolution, came about as a happy accident.
During European winters cheesemakers would sit their soft cheeses on the mantle overnight to mature. Ash from open fires would settle on the cheeses creating an attractive and tasty covering that also was a natural preservative.
These days cheese ashing is done by hand – see explanatory pic above.
Woombye’s Ash Brie is joined in Isabelle’s selection by a Truffle Triple Cream Brie – a brie cut through its centre and filled with a decadent truffle tapenade – a seriously indulgent and visually alluring dinner party cheese!
Then there’s the perfect-amount-of-runny Triple Cream Brie that the two bries above are based on and finally Stefan’s sharp and tangy Vintage Cheddar for that goto hard cheese on your platter or a seriously top-shelf toastie.
We hope you’re having a great time with our cheesemakers’ series, you can find all the Woombye Cheeses here.
Have a great week
Chris
* A heads up – being the best cheese in Australia means Blackall Gold is quite popular – Understandably it’s been selling pretty quickly. We’re receiving regular deliveries so if it’s sold out don’t panic – the next batch is due on Thursday.
