Literary Safari

Note: I just returned from three weeks in India. Though I originally started out wanting to make time to blog about my travels, it took very little time for me to decide to just take a break from all things electronic. So, here now is a completely non-sequential travel log, purely based on what I feel like writing about at this particular time. Read more here.

Since my mother and her immediate family grew up in French-speaking Morocco, cheese is one of their true culinary loves. As a kid growing up in Pune with my Meme (maternal grandmother) and Massi (maternal aunt), on a typical day, making a cheese sandwich meant opening a can of Amul processed cheese. When family came to visit from Casablanca, however, life got exciting because we knew that deep inside their suitcases would be wrapped a big, 2 kilo ball of Edam cheese, the kind with the bright red wax rind! The arrival of the “red cheese” as I called it, heralded a few weeks of unabashed cheesy adventures — Meme’s homemade pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, and even fondue!

On special occasions, we would also make trips to Pune’s very own A.B.C. Farms which has been producing 60 varieties of cheese using their own cultures since 1976. When my parents came to visit from Ghana, we would attend their annual cheese exhibition (i.e. a tasting) and drool over the extensive range of cheeses, especially the gruyere.

I can say with certainty that back in those days the demand for specialty cheeses was limited to restaurants and foreigners, not the Indian palate. Things have certainly changed. Cheese has come a long way in India. You can find at least a dozen varieties of cheese in a standard supermarket like Reliance Fresh. Now, even Amul has a line that features Emmental, Pizza Mozzarrella (shredded), and Gouda, all “100% vegetarian” (i.e. no rennett).

The Cheese Highlight of My Trip

All that said, the cheese that got me most excited during my recent trip to India was the line of handmade cheese produced by Auroville, the “township devoted to an experiment in human unity” which was founded in 1968 by the “mother,” a devotee of Sri Aurobindo. Auroville is located in the South Indian town of Pondicherry (now officially Puducheri, alas yet another city whose name India’s nationalistic politicians have sought to Hindufy in recent times).

Till now, I’d only known Auroville for its amazing line of handmade paper products – notebooks, stationary, photo albums, even earrings and home accessories such as bowls, all made out of vegetal fibers. Back in the days when I actually wrote letters and not emails to my friends and family, any trip to India was incomplete without replenishing my stock of Auroville stationary.

So, back to the cheese. The day before K. and I left Coimbatore, where his parents live, my brother-in-law came home from Bangalore with a bag filled with Auroville’s La Ferme cheeses! Each one was slickly vacuum packed and wrapped in attractive color labels and tied with a paper ribbon. Beautiful to look at! And, very reminiscent of everything I love about Auroville paper, where style and functionality go hand in hand.

My brother-in-law had bought cheddar, blue gorgonzola, farm cheese, feta, and lofabu. I didn’t try all of them, but whichever ones I did open were delicious, nutty, creamy, and authentic.

Each type was described in detail on the packaging like so:

FETA is a white, creamy though brittle, salty/sour Greek cheese; especially for mixing in raw salads or cooked in salty pastry, vegetable dishes and sauces.

FARM CHEESE is a young cheese and as such has a mild and fresh taste that almost sparkles on the tongue. It is especially loved by children! Delicious on bread and in salads and superb for melting over hot dishes. A truly “all purpose cheese”.

GOUDA D’AUR is a small gouda ball of around 300gr sold in an attractive packing made from a colorful cloth wrapped around the cheese. It makes a great gift for a friend or a dinner party. It is a good all purpose table cheese.

LOFABU is a 2 to 3 months old cheese with a mild nutty flavor that pleases the palates from children to connoisseurs. Both Indians and Westerners love this cheese that can be used for a wide range of purposes – like melting on pizzas or pastry, or served with cocktails, salads, on sandwiches, or on a cheese platter. (Lofabu can be compared to soft/creamy Dutch cheese like Edammer or Raclette cheese.)

A note on funguses appeared on the back of each package!

Moulds and funguses are highly desirable, since they give cheeses their distinct flavors. They are natural ferments in all cheeses, whether you see them or not. If mould or fungus develops on cheese in the fridge it doesn’t mean the cheese is spoiled. In fact fungus is healthy to eat, helps the digestion, and will add a desirable flavor to most cheeses. However if you don’t like the view of it, you can simply scrape it off, since it is merely a matter of taste and appetizing look.

And, detailed handling instructions also followed on each package, keeping in mind the typical power cuts that occur throughout India:

There are some rules of thumb about stocking and keeping cheeses. The times mentioned in the table below can only be indicative, since much depends on:

• the quality of refrigeration at +5 to +10 degrees (keep in mind how often your fridge door is opened)
• the season in which the cheese is transported (high summer, cool season or monsoon time)
• and power cuts that may effect the cooling of the cheeses

I was also struck by the “tasteful tips” that were provided, for newcomers to cheese:

• For breakfast, lunch or snacks cheese can be eaten on bread served with milk, juice, tea or coffee. It also goes well on toast or biscuits and combined with salads, fruits, eggs, ham and cereals.
• Cheese can be served after lunch or dinner as a cheese platter . For this purpose it is sliced and served with bread and, traditionally, with wine.
• Cheese, (as Fondue) can be melted and as such forms the base for a sauce that is a meal in itself when served with slices of bread for dipping.
• Cheese can be grated and spread over baked dishes in the oven, as well as melted over boiled cauliflower, sprouts, broccoli and many other vegetables.
• Among its many uses cheese has been made famous in the Tosti , a crispy combination of bread roasted in a covered pan with ham or egg and cheese melting on top.

The cheeses, if you’re curious are made by a team of 18 farmers and professional cheese makers from India, Holland, and France, all of whom live in Pondicherry. They contain no artificial flavors or preservatives, and all water used in the cheeses is pumped by a windmill. Turns out they’ve been making these since 1988! If I didn’t have a week-long trip between Coimbatore and Pune, I would have carried a bag full of La Ferme products to my grandmother’s house!

More Cheesy Discoveries

My brother-in-law also told me about an organic cheese farm near Coimbatore, which offers organic farming and cheese making courses. Cinnabar Farm is located in the gorgeous hill station of Kodaikanal, and is also a bed and breakfast.

Acres Wild is another cheese farm in the Nilgiri Mountains, in a town called Conoor. The husband and wife team, originally from Bombay (he was a Bollywood guy and she a baker) makes everything from gouda and colby to camembert, also very nicely packaged. Eventually, they have plans to convert part of their farm into a B&B. Their cheeses are not widely marketed, but if you’re in Conoor, they are available at Tranquilitea, a tea lounge situated in a 19th century bungalow, which seems well worth a visit.

Ah, places to add to my list of places to go next time I’m in India!