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cheese—5,000 on average at any
one time—are laid out on wooden
shelves and turned ever y day.
At first, Rosana struggled to find
a market for the aged cheese,
but with a growing interest in
artisanal cheeses, consumers'
tastes have changed.
The cheesemakers who are part
of the Caminho do Queijo Paulista
are mainly women. "In Minas Gerais,
traditionally there was always a
woman behind the cheesemaker,
except that she wasn't visible,"
explains Rosana. "It was different
in São Paulo—the women appeared
because they're the ones that started
the production. And when it comes
to giving identity to the product—the
maturing, when to turn the cheese, if
you want a washed rind, or fungus—
each one has the freedom to do
it the way they want." The result?
"There are no two cheeses the same,
and this is so enriching. São Paulo is
creating this movement."
WINNING INGREDIENTS
Some 120 miles further east, there's
another determined woman at the
helm of an award-winning dairy farm,
Estância Silvânia. The cheesemaker
Camila Almeida didn't grow up
making cheese, but she has put
herself through dozens of courses
to master her skills, including at
the Academie MonS in the Loire
department of France. A wall of
trophies in the farm shop suggests
that Camila's studies are paying
off. At the Concours Mondial du
Fromage et des Produits Laitiers
in France last year, she won an
astounding five medals.
Camila puts the success down
to the key ingredient: milk, 132
gallons of it, produced every day
from the herd of 200 Gir cattle—a
breed originally from India that is
well adapted to the hot climate.
Each cow has a name, even the
Primavera is coated in
edible flowers grown nearby
Cheesemaker Camila Almeida
Gir milk cheeses made at Estância Silvânia
