Faith in cheeses

Connoisseur John Greeley is impressed by the creativity of New Zealand cheesemakers. Picture / Martin Sykes

After a week of almost constant cheese chomping, connoisseur John Greeley takes the news of an impromptu tasting with good humour.

Though a self-confessed novice on the subject of cheese, I know what I like and I've brought along four of my personal favourites for the international cheese expert to put to the taste test.

Handing over my feta, camembert, leidse and blue varieties to the affable American, I reflect it wasn't long along ago that New Zealand-produced cheese was epitomised by a shoe-box-sized chunk of cheddar.

When the subject of our lacklustre cheese-making history is raised, Greeley's diplomatic response makes it clear why he's been brought here - twice - by the New Zealand Specialty Cheese Association as a kind of roving cheese ambassador.

Did he know much about the New Zealand cheese industry before he came here?

"No," drawls Greeley in his Massachusetts twang. "But I did know that New Zealand was the largest supplier of cheddar to the United States in volume."

Hardly a badge of honour, I venture.

"I think it's a good foundation and an excellent thing to know, that a country with 4 million people can supply a country of 270 million with a lot of cheddar."

It's a bit boring though, isn't it?

"I'm not saying it's a glamorous fact but I am saying it's very noteworthy in the world of cheese," says Greeley diplomatically. "I'm a cheese importer, and this is a significant fact, that New Zealand is able to produce the highest volume of dairy products going into the United States in 2004."

For the record, the Italians beat us on dollar volume with their parmesan exports to the US.

After our tasting session, my novice status emerges once again when I innocently ask which cheese is Greeley's personal favourite.

"Are you kidding? That would be suicidal!" exclaims the master judge who's presided over the New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards for the past two years.

Too political, huh?

"Oh yeah. Do you want to see the back of a bus saying 'John Creeley endorses ... ' ?"

Well, yes, it would be interesting. But the closest he gets to revealing his preference is giving away a few clues about what he's looking for in a cheese - originality and flair.

"New cheeses are about tweaking the basics and that's what we're looking for in New Zealand - people who want to put that extra effort into a cheese recipe to create a bigger-flavour profile.

"I believe part of the reason the Champion of Champion Cheeses, the Karikaas Leyden, won this year was because the cheesemakers made an extra effort to create a bigger-flavour profile for the competition," Greeley says of the flavoursome hard Dutch-style cheese produced in North Canterbury.

"There is something about the cumin, something about the caramel finish of that cheese that convinced the judges that this has gone a bit further. Even though it was aged two years it was still fresh on the mouth.

"That's very good cheesemaking, when you can bring something along two years and still have all that vitality in it."

So is our worthy but dull reputation as a cheese exporter about to undergo a makeover?

"It's all ready to go," says Greeley. "You have cows out here that graze all year long in the same lush pastures because of the wonderful climate. That provides an excellent base for cheesemaking. That, coupled with excellent craftsmanship and creativity, has seen the growth of cheeses unique to New Zealand," he says.

"Cheese is hot on the global scene and New Zealand is set to be part of this."

John Greeley's taste test

Zany Zeus Creamy Feta

"Always start with the mildest cheese first. This feta is lovely because it has a citrus finish and a refreshing quality and character. It's very bright on the tongue. This is also very nice cheesemaking given that this producer is using cows' milk, which is not the original milk for this style of feta, so he has really accomplished something here. The original Greek feta is 90 per cent sheep, 10 per cent goat. This cheese comes very close to the texture of the original. It's quite creamy, too. Cows' milk feta is often somewhat rubbery and stiff on the palette but this one dissolves easily."

Puhoi Valley Cheese Camembert

"We are looking at a camembert that has ripened absolutely perfectly. The centre of the camembert is firm, like it should be because that's the last part to ripen. If you really want to see what it tastes like take your first part from near the edge, which developed first. In camembert we're looking for traditional French flavours, which are difficult to produce with pasteurised milk, but Puhoi has made great strides in this area by accomplishing the original-flavour profile of mushrooms, butter and cream to a good degree. Not perfectly, but to a good degree. Nice rind development on the Puhoi camembert, too."

* Puhoi Valley Cheese Camembert won this year's Champion Favourite Cheese Award.

Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese Leidse

"Nice balance of flavour between the cumin and the gouda flavour. This is not an overly aged cheese, it's under six months, and the distribution of cumin seed is perfectly set in the curd. Lovely appearance and nice flavour profile."

Kapiti Kikorangi

"This has the benefit of having cream added to it to soften the blue flavour. Very nicely balanced. Extra cream diminishes the salt sensation. As I have said all week long, New Zealand cheesemakers have blue down. For a small country there is an impressive variety of blues."

Expert tips

* The full aroma of cheese is reached at room temperature

* Soft-ripened cheeses take about 30 minutes to reach room temperature after removal from the fridge

* Firm cheeses take around 45 minutes to an hour

* Yet more flavours are revealed when the cheese reaches body temperature on the palette

* Add melon and pineapple to your cheeseboard as palette refreshments

* Grapes are best with goat's cheese

* Pears and figs go well with sheep milk cheeses and blues

* Try celery and apples with hard cheeses and British Isles cheeses