Cow's milk (mixed Friesian/Guernsey/Jersey/Swiss Brown)
Northern Rivers
2kg wheels
8 weeks maturation
www.bangalowcheese.com.au
One of the things I love most about dealing with small producers is getting to know their cheeses as they evolve. Hand-made cheeses change with the seasons, and they change over time as the cheese-maker tweaks and refines the recipe.
Justin Telfer has been tinkering with his 'Byron Bay' Blue lately, and the results are impressive. One of the most striking changes is visual - it now has beautiful orange patches of Brevi mottled on the rind, helping it stand our from all the other blues in the fridge. The texture has also changed (it's now a little firmer, without being crumbly), and the flavour is far more complex and integrated, with meaty notes that I normally only taste in cheeses made from ewe's milk.
What used to taste like so many other Australian blue cheese now has a unique character of its own. Could it be due to the longer, slower maturation time, or perhaps the recent adjustments to starter cultures and salting methods?Whatever the reason, 'Byron Bay' Blue is beautifully composed; it's not as bold as Beethoven, nor showy like Bach, but more like Brahms - gentle, melodic, harmonious. It sings in the mouth.
Bangalow Cheese Company was re-branded Byron Bay Cheese Co several years ago, when Justin Telfer sold the business. Byron Bay Cheese Co was recently sold to Nimbin Valley Dairy, who now own and make the cheese. (Sometimes it's hard to keep up!)
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