Marrook Farm 'Bulga'

Mountain-style (Hard Cooked)
Cow's milk (Ayrshire)
Mid-North Coast
10kg wheels
6-8 months maturation
www.marrookfarm.com.au

First, I must acknowledge my good friend and fromager Ali Brien, who gave me my first taste of Marrook Farm's Bulga. Ali was the first of the Sydney cheesemongers to visit Marrook Farm on a brief whey-cation last year (more at Close to the Wedge). The samples she brought back were supposed to be 'rejects' but I thought they were just as good as many commercially available cheeses.

Six months on (and several kg's of their wonderful yoghurt later), I've finally received my first delivery of Marrook Farm's cheeses. An impressive10kg wheel, 'Bulga' certainly commands a presence. Holding the broad disc, with its smooth, natural rind, I was conscious that I was essentially holding 100L of milk, magically transformed into this solid, golden disc.

Marrook Farm 'Bulga'

While it's tempting to call the cheese a guyere, cheesemaker David Marks refers to it as a 'mountain cheese'. Fittingly, it's named after Mt Bulga, not far from Marrook Farm at Elands, NW of Taree. But it has a lot in common with gruyere, such as its compact texture, and smooth, savoury nutty-ness. I can imagine it perfectly melted atop croutons for a wintery onion soup.

This first thing I noticed when I cut open the wheel was the colour - a deep, golden yellow - and the second thing was the aroma. 'Bulga' smells of grassy pastures and damp earth (in a good way). The flavour is a little salty at first, but behind that is an incredibly rich, milky sweetness. I'm convinced this reflects the quality of the certified biodynamic milk. And the salt balances out to a smooth savouriness once properly warmed to room temperature. It paired remarkably well with a fine Chinese green tea.

This batch was made in October 2010,  making it about 7 months old. I can't wait to taste another batch with longer maturation, it has so much potential to develop richer, deeper, more complex characteristics.

I think 'Bulga' is a cheese to rival Heidi Farm's Gruyere - what do you think?