Our Cheeses: Aroha Organic Goat Cheese is a speciality product with each cheese handcrafted using only methods that are one with nature. It is a round (wheel shaped) firm cheese a bit similar to the famous Dutch Gouda cheese but then made from organic goat milk. Due to NZFSA regulations milk has to be pasteurized, we then add a cheese culture, vegetable rennet, various certified organic herbs, & sea salt. The cheeses have a natural edible rind and are ripened and aged on kahikatea wooden shelves. Our cheeses are hand made, each one might slightly differ in shape and weight. The bigger sizes weigh 900gr. approx while the smaller ones weigh 450 gr. approx. The cheese is best stored cool but is nicest eaten by room temperature. Although we are still a small cheese making business we love what we are doing and we feel excited about growing and developing as our goat numbers increase. In some countries, i.e. the Netherlands, it is allowed under strict regulations to produce organic raw milk cheese on farms like ours. This would be our ultimate goal because raw milk cheese contains all the essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes which contribute to good health and pasteurisation unfortunately destroys quite a few of those essential components. Hopefully this might be possible in NZ too one day..
Why do we use vegetable rennet? Rennet in general is an important ingredient in the cheese making process which helps the milk to set or coagulate. Most traditional cheeses are made with animal rennet which is derived from the lining of a goat or calf's stomach. We only use vegetable rennet which is a substance derived from a type of mushroom called Rhizomucor miehei. It is more acceptable for people who object to the use of animal by-products.