Curds and Words
A Few Closing Curds
Curds and Words was intended as a series to showcase wonderful Australian cheeses, but the truth is, it’s becoming more difficult. Since the closure of Holy Goat in early 2024, one by one, more artisanal cheesemakers are shutting up shop all over the country. Last week, the producer that started my journey of discovery in extraordinary local cheeses, Pecora Dairy, announced they were closing their doors and moving on to other pastures.
Over ten years ago, I discovered the Pecora Dairy mould-ripened Bloomy at a produce market on the north side of Sydney’s Harbour Bridge. It blew my mind. I had never tasted the complexity of flavour and texture in an Australian cheese before. Made from the zesty and herbaceous milk of a herd of happy ewes in the town of Robertson, each small round of Bloomy tasted slightly different through the seasons and reflected the care of farmers Michael and Cressida.
On the first and third Saturday of each month, I would toddle up to their stall, keen to taste how a time of year could be distilled in a pot of yoghurt, block of feta or new wheel of cheese. I was intrigued when they began to dust my favourite softie in a fine layer of ash and thrilled when a washed rind known as Curly Red was added to their delicious repertoire. In addition to tasting the seasons change, over the years, I could taste their growing experience and passion for making exquisite cheese.
When first nibbling a wedge of the Jambaroo Mountain blue, I recall a firmness in texture, with thin mild veins running through a body like that of cooked cream. It was deliciously snackable, but subtle. My last mouthful of Jambaroo blue, which I now wish I’d more keenly savoured, was herbaceous, spicy and almost spreadable. There was a pungent grain to the rind that left a moreish ginger-like tingling on the tongue, unique in the Australian blue cheese landscape.
Making incredible cheese takes a monumental amount of patience, skill and time. It’s a lifestyle that, without a younger generation to pick up the knowledge and passion to continue, is often unsustainable for these unique producers. With any luck, this wave of closures is simply the pendulum swinging, igniting a fire in a new crop of eager curd nerds, keen to write a new chapter in Australia’s cheesy future.