E AT AN INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL CHEESEMAKING

In Natural Cheesemaking we work with nature, instead of against nature, to make cheese. By using a starter that we make at home, harnessing the rich microbial ecology in raw milk, and honouring traditional cheesemaking methods, we can create cheeses that are more healthy, delicious and complex in flavour.

Cheesemaking should be a simple and natural process. But anyone who’s made cheese according to the standard approach will attest that cheese is no longer created according to any natural considerations. First milk is pasteurised, standardised and homogenised, then monocultures of microorganisms are added back to replace the life taken away by pasteurisation. Genetically modified enzymes are then mixed into milk to cause it to curdle, and the curds left to drain in plastic forms. And all the while cheesemakers need to keep everything sterile to assure that their sensitive laboratory raised cultures aren’t contaminated