Hikuai School children experienced what goes into making Dutch gouda cheese when they visited an immersive experience in Opoutere last week. They got hands-on learning about the cheesemaking process at the mixed-use facility that converts milk into cheese ready for market.
The children learned that to make the cheese, milk goes into a vat culture and rennet gets added before the milk is cut with manual cheese harps. After the milk sets, the curd and whey are kept in suspension and stirred with a paddle for 30 minutes. Hot water firms up the curd before kawakawa is added. The stirring stops and the curd goes to the bottom.
The junior fromagers and fromageres were given an individual cheese mould to fill with curd and send to the cheese room to be pressed. The curd then compresses down to about half the height of the mould.
The end product is put in a fridge at 7C for three weeks to mature.
![Pieter Van Leeuwen and his assistant Thomas Capdevielle prepare the cheese moulds.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/NGFOVILQLBFPNH54E7BQDNT5GY.jpg?auth=8420f434c222e4df418c116809f61cc36132b4e14be8a7641cd0384155a05fe8&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)