Let's set the record straight... I could probably live without chocolate or cakes, but I would not survive in a cheeseless world!
A world with no cheese is like a summer without any mangoes or an autumn with no mushrooms... or as the French Philosopher Brillat-Savarin put it in 1855, "... a beauty with only one eye", I am sure you get the idea!
In Adelaide (South Australia), we are very lucky to have access to hundreds of cheeses, both from Australia and all over the world.
So very often, instead of taking a walk in the parks or around the beach (both wonderful here too), I go and wander through the cheese stalls in the Adelaide Central Market.
I am doubly lucky, since I also have access to the first maturing cave of its genre in Australia, which is only one street away from the market... and believe me, entering this room has the same effect on me as a lolly shop would have on a child!
Undoubtedly, it had to be the topic of one of my first posts!
Although I am very aware of the fact that nothing can replace the sensorial impact of opening the heavy door that protects around 7 tonnes of precious cheese, I will do my best to recreate some of its very attractive qualities and features for you!
First and foremost, this room is the result of years of travelling the world and countless meetings with passionate 'affineurs' (cheese refiners/maturers). Back home, it was just a matter of recreating as best as we could the natural
environment cheeses are crying our for.
Ideally, we would have liked to find a real and natural cave, but realistically we knew our chances were poor.
So we had to deal with our own limitations and transcend them... Thanks to affineurs such as Herve Mons, Denis Provent and Carlo Fiori, and also thanks to our local Victorian affineur, Richard Thomas; with their years of experience and wisdom, our special room became operational in the middle of 2009. Since then, we are learning more and more everyday, and our excitement has not diminished one bit!
The cheese is happy in our special room. You know how we know this? As soon as we open the famous heavy door, we are instantly greeted with the most amazing odours. A mixture of earth and ammonia, spice and dust, it is vibrant and energising... it is truly alive!
The cheeses there look strikingly beautiful in their variety of shapes and texture. We are dealing mainly with semi-hard and hard cheeses. The kind that have what it takes to resist a 52 day trip across the ocean from Europe to Australia. The sort of cheeses with rinds that protect them from potential external aggressions. Sometimes, long and rough trips may affect their integrity, and our room is then turned into an Intensive Care Unit with immediate 'TLC' provided by our sensational 'budding' affineur Sam!
Sam plays a vital role in that room. Everyday of its working week, he visits it with a loving eye and a caring hand, armed with a bucket filled with a brine solution or one of his secret mixture and a brush. He will be in contact with each and every cheese once a week! Sometimes, just caressing them and turning them over so that the moisture content is evenly dispersed and the wood underneath is freed of any surplus. Sometimes, making sure the rind looks healthy and in full protection mode.
It's definitely a work of love and that's what you're getting when you are lucky enough to be at the end of this delicate and uncompromised chain.
So if like me, you'd rather wander through a maze of various colours and smells, do not hesitate to drop me a line on this blog. Who knows, I might take you with me next time you are near by.
Cheese
Valerie
