By Engela Duvenage, for the Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University
Farmers with a few cows and the necessary space available could for around R24 000 start their own artisan cheesemaking business. So says Dr Faith Nyamakwere of the Department of Animal Sciences at Stellenbosch University (SU). She recently received her PhD in Animal Sciences in the SU Faculty of AgriSciences for her research on how small-scale farmers can start their own artisan cheesemaking businesses.
She successfully developed a cheesemaking process for Pecorino-style and ricotta cheeses, and then implemented it on four farms in rural Eastern Cape. Her model includes aspects such as the use of simple tools, breed choice, hygiene practices and how to set up a reasonably cheap yet all-important aging chamber for maturation purposes.
Her project, which was a first in South Africa, was conducted with help from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in the Eastern Cape, through funding from the National Research Foundation. It was conducted in collaboration with the SU Department of Food Science and the Italian cheese company Formaggi della Famiglia Busti, Acciaiolo.
The hope is to extend the project to further help small-scale farmers to market their products.
Dr Nyamakwere believes the model can also successfully be followed by people wanting to start a garagist-style cheesemaking business, depending on whether they have enough processing and ageing space available, and can ensure good hygiene control.
“The idea for her project came from the fact that in Europe there are still many small farms making traditional and artisanal cheeses with very simple tools. These products are part of the European culture and history. Farmers are able to sell their products to niche markets and receive medium to high earnings,” explains her supervisor, Dr Emiliano Raffrenato of the SU Department of Animal Sciences.
Keeping livestock and the making of fermented milk products have a long tradition in the Eastern and Southern Africa, but cheesemaking is not part of most people’s culture in South Africa. Compared to Europe, South Africa has a very small artisan cheesemaking industry.
“Most of the cheeses we know in South Africa have European roots. Despite its nutritional value, especially for growing children, cheese is still a very acquired taste, in part because of its cost per kilogram. In recent years, however, it has been introduced into many more South African diets through fast-food products such as pizza,” she says.
“The ideal would of course be to develop a local cheese that is tailored to local taste preferences, such as is being done in Japan,” adds Dr Nyamakwere.
Dr Nyamakwere developed her step-by-step protocol at the dairy of the Welgevallen experimental farm of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of AgriSciences.
She decided on hard-pressed Pecorino-style cheese that is aged for 60 days, and soft fresh ricotta cheese which is a byproduct. Both require relatively easy processing techniques that can potentially be duplicated by producers with limited resources. Equipment and ingredients were thoroughly tested.
“To make the Pecorino cheese, for instance, moulds with big holes work better. Sharp curd cutters are also essential to help cut curd into cubes of 1 to 2 cm3,” she explains some of the practicalities involved.
“Pecorino-style cheese is already known and appreciated by South African consumers and can be marketed as an artisan specialty cheese in stores and to visiting tourists,” she believes. “Many people prefer artisanal cheeses because of their nutritional benefits and unique taste.”
“Most of the farm workers who tasted the ricotta we made said it was quite similar to ‘amasi’ which is a local product that people are accustomed to,” says Dr Nyamakwere, who is optimistic this will help ricotta find acceptance into the local market.
She tested her step-by-step protocol on four smallscale-farmers in rural parts of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Their herds predominantly consist of Jersey and Holstein-Friesian cows, which on average produce at least 100 liters of good quality milk per day. The farmers all followed proper hygiene practices during milking.
“Our tests showed that in particular milk from Jersey cows works well for cheesemaking, and ensures higher yields,” says Dr Nyamakwere.
For more local lifestyle features and news from Stellenbosch and surrounds, subscribe to our newsletter.
·
She successfully developed a cheesemaking process for Pecorino-style and ricotta cheeses, and then implemented it on four farms in rural Eastern Cape. Her model includes aspects such as the use of simple tools, breed choice, hygiene practices and how to set up a reasonably cheap yet all-important aging chamber for maturation purposes.
Her project, which was a first in South Africa, was conducted with help from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in the Eastern Cape, through funding from the National Research Foundation. It was conducted in collaboration with the SU Department of Food Science and the Italian cheese company Formaggi della Famiglia Busti, Acciaiolo.
The hope is to extend the project to further help small-scale farmers to market their products.
Dr Nyamakwere believes the model can also successfully be followed by people wanting to start a garagist-style cheesemaking business, depending on whether they have enough processing and ageing space available, and can ensure good hygiene control.
“The idea for her project came from the fact that in Europe there are still many small farms making traditional and artisanal cheeses with very simple tools. These products are part of the European culture and history. Farmers are able to sell their products to niche markets and receive medium to high earnings,” explains her supervisor, Dr Emiliano Raffrenato of the SU Department of Animal Sciences.
Keeping livestock and the making of fermented milk products have a long tradition in the Eastern and Southern Africa, but cheesemaking is not part of most people’s culture in South Africa. Compared to Europe, South Africa has a very small artisan cheesemaking industry.
“Most of the cheeses we know in South Africa have European roots. Despite its nutritional value, especially for growing children, cheese is still a very acquired taste, in part because of its cost per kilogram. In recent years, however, it has been introduced into many more South African diets through fast-food products such as pizza,” she says.
“The ideal would of course be to develop a local cheese that is tailored to local taste preferences, such as is being done in Japan,” adds Dr Nyamakwere.
Pecorino and ricotta
Dr Nyamakwere developed her step-by-step protocol at the dairy of the Welgevallen experimental farm of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of AgriSciences.
She decided on hard-pressed Pecorino-style cheese that is aged for 60 days, and soft fresh ricotta cheese which is a byproduct. Both require relatively easy processing techniques that can potentially be duplicated by producers with limited resources. Equipment and ingredients were thoroughly tested.
“To make the Pecorino cheese, for instance, moulds with big holes work better. Sharp curd cutters are also essential to help cut curd into cubes of 1 to 2 cm3,” she explains some of the practicalities involved.
“Pecorino-style cheese is already known and appreciated by South African consumers and can be marketed as an artisan specialty cheese in stores and to visiting tourists,” she believes. “Many people prefer artisanal cheeses because of their nutritional benefits and unique taste.”
“Most of the farm workers who tasted the ricotta we made said it was quite similar to ‘amasi’ which is a local product that people are accustomed to,” says Dr Nyamakwere, who is optimistic this will help ricotta find acceptance into the local market.
Putting research into practice in the Eastern Cape
She tested her step-by-step protocol on four smallscale-farmers in rural parts of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Their herds predominantly consist of Jersey and Holstein-Friesian cows, which on average produce at least 100 liters of good quality milk per day. The farmers all followed proper hygiene practices during milking.
“Our tests showed that in particular milk from Jersey cows works well for cheesemaking, and ensures higher yields,” says Dr Nyamakwere.