It’s true, for the most part, the cheese market in this country is a flavour dystopia. I’d argue it’s not directly the fault of cheesemakers, and I don’t think there’s some widespread national ignorance about what good cheese tastes like. I think it has a lot to do with our rules around raw milk.
In Canada, raw milk is more difficult to obtain than bulk heroin, and that guarantees that our cheese will be boring. It actually even affects imported cheese too, Camembert being an excellent example. Pasteurized milk Camembert (which is all you can buy here) is bitter, tastes like glue, and is not even worth eating. Raw milk Camembert is mindbogglingly complex and profound.
So, this regulatory fact folds into a pre-existing Canadian inferiority complex - we assume the cheese made here must be bland, so there’s no real market for premium offerings. Give this system of rules and expectations decades to develop, and here we are.
Today, there are some excellent artisan cheeses made locally. They’re not available in grocery stores, and they’re very expensive. If those cheeses were more affordable and available, nobody would even consider buying the mass market stuff that fills store shelves currently.
That’s all to say that, I don’t think the solution necessarily needs to come from outside, or that there’s even a quick and easy fix. We have to change the system of rules that brought us here. Maybe things would improve if we subsidized small, artisan cheese producers like some provinces do with their craft breweries and distilleries. Especially since cheese can have a short shelf life and wastage is more-or-less guaranteed.
PS - I don’t know if you’ve ventured into Oka cheese from Quebec at all - it’s got pretty decent flavour and is widely available. Worth a try if you haven’t had it!
Good question. To my knowledge, no. Acid producing bacteria that are active in the cheesemaking process make for an environment that’s hostile to pathogens. I found this FDA report that looked into contamination in raw milk cheeses that were aged for a minimum of 60 days. By the looks of it, I’m not sure raw milk cheese is any less safe than eating a Subway meatball sub, but, I’m not a scientist.
France and Italy have found a way to work it out so that people aren’t buckling over left & right, so I think their systems would be worth examining from a policy perspective.
Nice, thanks. I never really thought about why before but I did think cheese was significantly better when I was on a trip a number of years ago. Really all the food was better and things that I have a harsh reaction to at home I was able to eat without issue abroad.
Thanks for the detailed response. Is there an easy way to tell which cheeses are made with raw vs. Pasteurized milk? I’d love to more confidently try Canadian cheese, and will have to try Oka next time I’m at thd store!
I believe it should be declared on the ingredient list on the packaging, if the cheese uses pasteurized or unpasteurized milk. Cheeses using unpasteurized milk are very difficult to find where I am (not a big city, but not a small city). Even specialist cheese shops don’t often have them on-hand, but I always ask. Not sure on your jurisdiction, but it can be worth doing a web search for local cheesemakers in your area. There might be a little business making something excellent that probably never sees a grocery store shelf. Definitely that’s the case in Western Canada.
It’s true, for the most part, the cheese market in this country is a flavour dystopia. I’d argue it’s not directly the fault of cheesemakers, and I don’t think there’s some widespread national ignorance about what good cheese tastes like. I think it has a lot to do with our rules around raw milk.
In Canada, raw milk is more difficult to obtain than bulk heroin, and that guarantees that our cheese will be boring. It actually even affects imported cheese too, Camembert being an excellent example. Pasteurized milk Camembert (which is all you can buy here) is bitter, tastes like glue, and is not even worth eating. Raw milk Camembert is mindbogglingly complex and profound.
So, this regulatory fact folds into a pre-existing Canadian inferiority complex - we assume the cheese made here must be bland, so there’s no real market for premium offerings. Give this system of rules and expectations decades to develop, and here we are.
Today, there are some excellent artisan cheeses made locally. They’re not available in grocery stores, and they’re very expensive. If those cheeses were more affordable and available, nobody would even consider buying the mass market stuff that fills store shelves currently.
That’s all to say that, I don’t think the solution necessarily needs to come from outside, or that there’s even a quick and easy fix. We have to change the system of rules that brought us here. Maybe things would improve if we subsidized small, artisan cheese producers like some provinces do with their craft breweries and distilleries. Especially since cheese can have a short shelf life and wastage is more-or-less guaranteed.
PS - I don’t know if you’ve ventured into Oka cheese from Quebec at all - it’s got pretty decent flavour and is widely available. Worth a try if you haven’t had it!
Does cheese made from raw milk possess the same theoretical risks as the raw milk itself?
Good question. To my knowledge, no. Acid producing bacteria that are active in the cheesemaking process make for an environment that’s hostile to pathogens. I found this FDA report that looked into contamination in raw milk cheeses that were aged for a minimum of 60 days. By the looks of it, I’m not sure raw milk cheese is any less safe than eating a Subway meatball sub, but, I’m not a scientist.
France and Italy have found a way to work it out so that people aren’t buckling over left & right, so I think their systems would be worth examining from a policy perspective.
Nice, thanks. I never really thought about why before but I did think cheese was significantly better when I was on a trip a number of years ago. Really all the food was better and things that I have a harsh reaction to at home I was able to eat without issue abroad.
Thanks for the detailed response. Is there an easy way to tell which cheeses are made with raw vs. Pasteurized milk? I’d love to more confidently try Canadian cheese, and will have to try Oka next time I’m at thd store!
Cheers! Always happy to talk cheese haha.
I believe it should be declared on the ingredient list on the packaging, if the cheese uses pasteurized or unpasteurized milk. Cheeses using unpasteurized milk are very difficult to find where I am (not a big city, but not a small city). Even specialist cheese shops don’t often have them on-hand, but I always ask. Not sure on your jurisdiction, but it can be worth doing a web search for local cheesemakers in your area. There might be a little business making something excellent that probably never sees a grocery store shelf. Definitely that’s the case in Western Canada.