La Stella Latticini 'Nodini'

Stretched curd
Cow's milk
Sydney
30g each
www.lastellalatticini.com.au

"Passion, as everyone knows, is red." That's the first thing you'll read when you open the La Stella Latticini website. "In our case, though, it's white."

My passion is finding beautiful new cheeses, and this is the first Nodini I've come across in NSW. They're "little knots" that fit in the palm of your hand, made in the same way as fresh mozzarella or bocconcini, but hand-tied into a knot instead of shaped into a ball.

La Stella Latticini
'Nodini'

I judged the Nodini at the Sydney Royal Cheese Show last month, and awarded them a gold medal, along with La Stella Latticini's beautiful burrata, and light-as-a-cloud ricotta.

It wasn't just the shape that caught my eye, but the beautifully fine filaments when I tore the knots apart. Fine filaments - like shredded, cooked chicken breast - are the mark of fine craftsmanship in stretched curd cheeses, and these are the finest I've seen in years. And the flavour was clean and sweet, and marvellously milky.

How to eat? Simply with cherry tomatoes, basil and olive oil, or with the Autumn bounty of fresh figs and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

Small Cow Farm 'Rustic' Blue

Blue vein
Cow's milk
Southern Highlands
random weight portions

www.smallcowfarm.com

As we celebrate the many great things about Australia, spare a thought for our artisan cheesemakers and small dairy farmers. It might be our national day, but animals still need milking, cheeses still need turning and there's no such thing as overtime rates for working on a public holiday.

Small Cow Farm
'Rustic' Blue

While it's nice to know they're there, our artisan cheese producers won't survive unless we buy their cheese, and buy it often. If you're not sure where to start, here's a tip: all of the cheeses featured here are handmade by real people - usually in small batches, and often with milk from their own animals.

Rustic Blue is the latest creation from cheesemaker Mark Williams at Small Cow Farm. It's been available for about a year, and is still a work in progress, but its quality and character are consistent.

In shape, size and texture, it reminds me of Fourme d'Ambert, from the Auvergne region of France. It's creamier and milder than their signature Small Cow Blue, which has intense blue notes and a spicy finish. 'Rustic' Blue is more earthy and approachable - perfect for lazy grazing and casual scoffing.

So, celebrate Australia Day with artisan cheese, and help advance Australian fare.

Binnorie Brie

White Mould
Cow's milk
Hunter Valley
1kg wheels
www.binnorie.com.au

It's time to celebrate the end of another year of discovering great local cheeses. How better to do it than with a whole wheel of brie? It's the cheese equivalent of comfort food - mild, creamy, and not too challenging.

Binnorie Brie

Binnorie Brie is one of the best value around. It's often released quite young, so buy a whole wheel to keep for a few weeks in the fridge, and enjoy it at its peak, near the best before date.

Cheese-maker Simon Gough has created a consistently good cheese that is smooth and creamy when fully ripe, with sweet butter flavours and a hint of mushrooms.

Pair it with a bottle of bubbles and a baguette for an instant crowd-pleaser.

So here's to a cheesy new year, and another 365 days of eating, enjoying and discovering more delicious local cheeses.

Paesanella Ricotta

Fresh
Cow's milk
Sydney
1kg & 2kg baskets
www.paesanella.com.au

Paesanella means 'country peasant girl' in the Italian dialect of Umberto Somma, who founded Paesanella Cheese Manufacturers in 1962. That's right, 1962 - making them one of the first artisan cheese producers in NSW.

Paesanella Ricotta

It's fitting, then, that their flagship cheese is an ingenious peasant food. Ricotta - which means "re-cooked" in Italian - was originally created to ensure that nothing went to waste. In its most traditional form, ricotta is made from the whey left-over from making cheeses such as fresh mozzarella, the other signature cheese from Paesanella. Traditional whey ricotta has a very light texture and a flavour reminiscent of egg white, or albumen.

Most modern ricotta in Australia, including Paesanella's, is now produced with whole milk, rather than left-over whey. The best examples still achieve the texture of the traditional style, but the flavour is more milky and less eggy.

You can still buy fresh Paesanella ricotta in the basket - still warm if you get there early enough - from the Marrickville factory, every morning except Saturdays. Spread some on fruit toast and drizzle with honey for the perfect cheesy breakfast.

Nimbin Valley Dairy 'Sweet Goat'

Semi-hard
Goat's milk (mixed Saanen, Toggenberg, British Alpine)
Northern Rivers
3kg wheels
3-6 months maturation
www.nimbinvalley.com.au

Close your eyes and take a bite of Sweet Goat, and you could be in the French Alps, nibbling Tomme de Chevre. But chances are, you're probably surrounded by the verdant pastures of the Nimbin Valley, because this cheese is rarely found beyond the Northern Rivers region.

Nimbin Valley Sweet Goat

Cheesemaker Paul Wilson has crafted a beautiful cheese with a mild, earthy aroma, thanks to a rustic rind mottled with pinks, whites and browns. The texture is smooth and supple, and the flavour is reminiscent of hazelnuts, with hints of caramel.

We are fortunate to have cheese-makers like Paul in NSW. Not only does he make great cheese, he wants to make even better cheese, and has travelled to France twice in the last couple of years to improve his craft.

I was lucky enough to try a Sweet Goat that had been matured for more than six months. I ordered it when it was made last Spring, and waited patiently until Autumn, when Paul was satisfied that it had reached its potential. When I tasted it for the first time, I was overwhelmed by its heady aromas, and marvelled at its clean, complex flavours and long finish.

I would happily declare it the best aged goat's cheese I've tasted in years.

Pecora Dairy Fresh Curd

Fresh
Ewe's milk (East Friesian)
Southern Highlands
www.pecoradairy.com.au

At about this time every year, I get very excited about fresh goat's curd signalling the arrival of Spring. This year there's a new reason to get excited: the Fresh Curd from Pecora Dairy, made from ewe's milk.

Pecora Dairy Fresh Curd

As cheese-maker Michael McNamara explained, the curd is rich and earthy in Autumn, when the ewes are reaching the end of their lactation cycle, then re-emerges in Spring with fresh, spritely flavours, capturing the essence of the new season.

The pretty pat of curd has a dense texture, almost like cream cheese, and the sweetness of the ewe's milk shines through. At such a chaotic time of year, with torrential rain, lambing and the flush of new milk to deal with, it's wonderful to know that Michael and Cressy can find enough calm moments to create such simple, beautiful cheese.

The curd is equally good with sweet and savoury foods. I crumbled half of it on top of vege nachos - like an authentic queso fresco - and gobbled up the rest for breakfast on pancakes drizzled with honey.

Country Valley Washed Rind

Washed Rind
Cow's milk
Southern Highlands
Random weight wedges
6 weeks maturation
www.countryvalley.com.au

Country Valley has been supplying milk to local cheesemakers for many years, so it makes sense that they recently developed their own cheese range.

Country Valley Washed Rind

The cheeses aren't made at the farm near Picton - John Fairley and the team are too busy producing their delicious milk and sensational yoghurt - but made under licence by High Valley Wine & Cheese Co in Mudgee. If you turn over the Washed Rind cheese, you'll notice it actually has "Mudgee Rouge" printed on the back of the label.

The faint orange hue, and faintly pungent aroma, hint at the cheese's character. It's relatively mild as far as washed rinds go, but delivers a step up in flavour from their Brie. The flavour is very clean, without the unpleasant animal notes that can develop in some washed rind cheeses - testament to Country Valley's high quality milk.

Like their yoghurt, the cheese has a glossy, voluptuous texture, and is delicious dolloped on fresh, crusty bread, with a glass of something bubbly.