Organic cheeses
When we think about organic farming immediately we think in fruits, vegetables and cereals, and may not have in mind that people can also produce organic milk from cattle raised in biological form and carefully fed.
Organic artisan cheeses are one of the most demanded craft products among consumers thanks to their careful preparation. The cheese is the fresh or matured product obtained by coagulation and separation of any of the following products: milk, cream, skim milk (whole or part), buttermilk or a mixture of any of them.
Thus we can see that the main ingredient for making cheese made by hand is to have a good quality of milk. The softer cheeses taste derived from cow's milk (except for the mozzarella that comes from buffalo milk) and stronger artisan cheeses are those made with milk from sheep and goats.
Artisans and ecological
An organic farm cheese is one that has been prepared following the practices of ecological farming and ranching. This includes the total process from the animal until it reaches the consumer. Thus, animals must come from livestock production and methods for making artisan cheeses: this includes the list of permitted additives and permitted practices that are subject also to organic farming.
The organic artisan cheese hand-made, can be made with raw milk or pasteurized. The advantage is that unpasteurized milk eliminates pathogens and cheese can be eaten fresh. The advantage of using raw milk is that the microorganisms present in milk itself will be the ferment, and in the healing process will provide a variety of different flavors and aromas.
To develop organic artisan cheese, milk is heated to about 35-40 º C and added enzymes (these are crops of lactic bacteria, fungi and yeasts that are responsible for providing its aroma and flavor to the cheese and to ensure their preservation)-always authorized. Rennet is added (can be animal or plant) and the milk begins to coagulate (largely by coagulation of casein protein). The paste that is formed should be separated from the serum (the part of milk that curdles), must be heated and is available to be pressed into molds. Cheese is salted and passes to the ripening room where it will gradually lose water and will be waiting to consumption. Depending on the artisan cheese, it can be fresh, tender, draining, curing, old and stale. And depending on the practices used in the rest of the above processes we have the variety of cheeses on the market, from the curd to Brie.
Advantages of organic products
The advantage of organic artisan cheeses on a traditional cheese is that we know the farmer who supplied the milk had maximum respect for their animals, the environment and to ensure that the animal and milk are free from harmful pesticides. The same applies to industry / artisan cheese, it has always used in the development of artisan cheeses, additives and harmful practices or the environment or for us. In short, the ecological artisanal cheese is a natural, nutritious and environmentally friendly alternative and healthy.
Zamora organic cheese
A Fariza cheese produced by the farmer Pedro Alonso Santos has been awarded the First Prize in National Innovation in Farming Cajamar Nevares granted by the Institute of Agricultural Employers (INEA), the College of Agricultural Engineering.
The product, which already has won more awards for quality, was compiled by artisanal sheep's milk from the farm, and part of the PDO Cheese Zamorano.
This is an artisan cheese obtained from a herd of sheep traditionally in the Natural Park Arribes del Duero. Thus, the products are 100% natural, made from raw materials of the earth.
Sources: La Opinion de Zamora / Organic products