SPECIAL BUTTER WEARS DAIRY CROWN

A cultured butter from Ladismith Cheese was crowned as the 2011 Dairy Product of the Year at last night’s (27 April) Danisco Qualité Dinner of the South African Dairy Championships. Fourteen superior dairy products received the coveted Qualité mark of excellence, while a total of 91 dairy products were lauded SA Champions. The names of the four deserving trainee cheese makers, who will receive training in France as part of a co-operation agreement between the Governments of the Western Cape and Burgundy, France, were also announced. Funding for the cheese maker bursary is supplied by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.

SA Dairy Product of the Year
Ladismith Cheese’s exceptional cultured butter clinched the title as SA Dairy Product of the Year from 833 other dairy entries.

Cultured butter has been an essential product for European chefs and gourmands for centuries.  During its manufacturing process a culture is added to the freshly pasteurised cream which delivers deep and rich flavours.  The flavour is also undiluted as cultured butter is lightly salted, 0,5% compared to 1.7% for ordinary butter.  Another benefit of cultured butter is that it spreads better due to the natural aeration. Ladismith Cheese, the innovative dairy company from Ladismith in the Klein Karoo, now brings South Africans a step closer to culinary delight with the creation of this excellent and award winning product.

Qualité winners
The Qualité emblem serves to guarantee the dairy consumer of the utmost quality.  This year only fourteen products received this prestigious acclaim.

Parmalat, one of the country’s largest dairy manufacturers received no less than three Qualité Awards for their Mature Cheddar, Simonsberg Extra Mature Cheddar and their Royalty Stracciatella Aylesbury ice cream.  Lancewood Holdings and Ladismith Cheese followed closely on their heels with two Qualité Awards each.  Other Qualité winners include Clover SA, DairyBelle, Fair Cape Dairies, Honeydew Dairies, Marcel’s Frozen Yoghurt, Puglia Cheese and Stonelees.

SA Champion dairy products
Ninety one dairy products were given SA Champion status.  In this category Parmalat took the lead with 12 champions, while Lancewood Holdings followed closely with 9 champions, and Fairfield Dairy and Fair Cape Dairies with 7 each.  Fairview Cheese Company has 6 champions, while Belnori Boutique Cheesery, DairyBelle and Clover SA boast 5 each. Other SA Champions include Dalewood Fromage (3), De Pekelaar Cheese (3), Ladismith Cheese (3), Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses (2), Lausanne Dairies (2), Marcel's Frozen Yoghurt (2), Ovis Angelica (2), Puglia Cheese (2), Rhodes Food Group (2), Zandam Cheese (2), and Arista Dairies (1), Foxenburg (1), Hijke Cheese (1), Honeydew Dairies (1), Jasmyn Bokmelk (1), Klein River Cheese (1), Laerskool Buffeljagsrivier (1), La Montanara Dairy (1), La Rochelle Bokmelkkaas (1), Sonnendal (1), Stonelees (1), and Swissland Cheese (1).

Cheese makers to hone their skills in France
Four trainee cheese makers will soon augment their cheese making skills with knowledge gleaned from the veritable European cheese masters. David Jackson (Simonsberg Cheese), Jonathan Hendricks (Kasselshoop Cheese), Lezl Pietersen (Arista Dairies) and Andries Hendricks (All Seasons Dairy) will leave for Burgundy later this year for practical training at various cheeseries, as well as theoretical tuition that includes modules on marketing and other commercial aspects of the industry.

Vernon Manual, one of the first students to complete the Burgundy Cheese making Fellowship course, this year returned to the competition as a first time judge.  Manual is presently employed as dairy technologist by a well known retail group, where he is responsible for the group’s cheese quality. "I was amazed at the vast variety of cheese entered for the competition.  Many of these products are marketed and sold at regional level only, or at one or two fresh food markets, but here you could experience the big picture of the SA cheese scene."

Competition draws entries from far and wide
The competition, which has taken place for the 177th time, this year drew a total of 77 large and artisanal manufacturers. "Although we’ve not experienced a significant increase in the number of entries, the importance of taking part has increased," says Johan Ehlers, CEO of Agri-Expo, organizers of the SA Dairy Championships. "Both large and boutique manufacturers use the competition as a benchmark for quality, while retailers and distributers gain valuable insight into which products to promote with pride."

"The 41 local and international dairy experts that acted as judges agreed that the packaging and appearance of the products of boutique cheese makers has shown remarkable improvement," says Kobus Mulder, chief judge and Dairy Manager at Agri-Expo. "Consumers buy firstly with their eyes and a handsome and fresh product will always receive attention."

Visitors to the 10th SA Cheese Festival, taking place from 29 April to 2 May can be the first to taste some of these winners.  The festival, which promises to be the biggest and best yet, takes place at Sandringham, next to the N1, halfway between Paarl and Cape Town (exit 39).

For further details about the SA Diary Championship and SA Cheese Festival, contact Kobus Mulder at kobus@agriexpo.co.za or 021 975 4440 or visit www.cheesesa.co.za and www.cheesefestival.co.za


Issued by Marlene Truter Communications
Contact: Yolandi de Wet
marlene@marlenetruter.co.za

On behalf of Agri-Expo
Contact: Mariana Rabie
tel 021 975 4440 / 082 871 1114
mariana@agriexpo.co.za