Sanctions anomalies or how the architects and the producers switch to cheesemaking

Prior to embargo in 2014 cheese was treated as a good breakfast, a great alternative to sausage, there was no boom in consumption of craft cheese. There is no doubt that even today the most popular cheeses in Russia remain "Russian", "Dutch", "Poshehonsky", but one can observe the growing trend of consumption cheese from private cheese-makers. The sanctions, which should have a negative impact on the food market of Russia on the contrary has had a positive impact and changed lives of many people for the better. In Russia there began to emerge culture of cheese consumption and the founders of this culture can be considered small dairies, and those people who really loved cheese and could not survive the disappearance of famous types of cheese: Brie, Parmesan, Camembert, Gorgonzola on the shelves.

"I'm an architect by profession, but I love cheese very much. We have a small dairy farm with 15 milking cows and in the near future we plan to start making cheese. Now there is too little real cheese, in Ryazan region we often face a substitute. I want to do something useful, to give people a good taste and a healthy product. We even have a slogan – the most important thing is to have delicious and healthy food! So we're going to cheesemaking," says Renata Yakovleva, Director of "Sytnye sady ".

People who were not indifferent to the cheese, decided to change the profession radically, to leave the routine work and to study the art of cheese making.

"Very often, I make cheese for a particular client. It is an indescribable feeling when you cook cheese and realize that this cheese is wanted. You see that the client is grateful that he enjoys it. We have 27 heads of cattle, including 17 milking cows, at the moment we are not producing much, but we are trying, experimenting, I think we still have everything ahead. I, before I started making cheese, worked in a printing house, but it was routine, but a cheese maker – this profession is to my taste. Yes, of course, cheese-making is not always beneficial, sometimes you can operate at a loss, but you receive huge moral pleasure, you feel like you're doing something important and useful. This is the most important thing!", says Akma, private cheesemaker from Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Sometimes life is unpredictable, and what earlier seemed impossible becomes a reality. In a moment the Executive producer may become a cheesemaker.

"I worked in the sphere of film production at Mosfilm, as Executive producer. Life changed in a moment," - says Boris Zimin, owner of cheese factory "Our Cheese".

"About 3 years ago I came across an article about a private cheese factory of Jay Close, and that the last 10-12 years an American lives in Russia and is engaged in cheese-making. I read the article and I got very interested in this topic. There was an address, the cheese factory was not too far so my wife and I got into the car and went to visit Jay. Half a day we talked on the subject of cheese, tasted the products. I was impressed with the enthusiasm of Jay and with the process of cheese making very much. Further - more! About 4-5 months I eagerly absorbed information about the production of cheese on the Internet and gradually began to experiment. First, of course, nothing worked. Then many times I came to Jay at the cheese factory, talked with him on the production technology. I can call Jay my teacher. Cheeses began to get better and better, I handed them out to friends and acquaintances. They liked the taste. The excitement began to grow exponentially. For six months I worked on the recipe and technology. From saucepans I switched to 50- liter pots. Then we have grown to a cheese factory, bought the equipment and now make cheese in pots of 350 liters. 4 years ago I had no idea that I can be engaged in cheesemaking. I am very glad that there was such a metamorphosis in the period of the sanctions anomalies!", - adds Boris Zimin.

Sometimes a city dweller suddenly realizes that he no longer wants to return to the "stone jungle" and finds avocation in agriculture and cheesemaking. So, a Muscovite Lyubov Gorbacheva, tells how 20 years ago she decided to leave Moscow and start a farm.

"Everyone comes into cheesemaking for different reasons. Everyone has his own interest. 20 years ago I together with my family moved from Moscow to a village in Smolensk region. I had an incubator for 48 000 eggs, we supplied young birds to Smolensk and the surrounding areas. We had 6 cows and get quality milk. Once I tried to make cheese. I liked it! After a while I got sick of cheese with mold, I became interested in the process, and I realized that this is mine!", - says Lyubov Gorbacheva, the owner of the dairy L. Gorbacheva.

Lyubov adds: "I started even before the sanctions, so I didn’t make my decision under the influence of the embargo. Now we mainly produce cheeses with white and blue mold, there is a good demand for them."

The majority of Russian cheese-makers believe that the art of cheese making in Russia is at the stage of inception, but what we have now is already a very great progress.

"Sanctions “washed out” about 80% of products from the market, which emptied shelves to a great extent and launched domestic cheesemaking. We are at the beginning of a long journey, there is no industrial boom, and cheese making is a very time consuming profession, manual labor," emphasizes Boris Zimin.

Lyubov Gorbacheva also adds that "cheesemaking in Russia is only beginning to develop slowly. A year ago there was stagnation, but now the cheese-makers have become more active. Embargo, of course, helped. There appeared niches that can be occupied. But at present the demand for our products is mainly at fairs, it is hard to work with shops."

It is worth noting that organized by the Government and by the cheese-makers fairs and festivals that take place annually in the capital and regions also help cheese-makers to sell their products.

These events are useful not only for sellers but also for buyers. Fairs and festivals help the user to learn more about the culture of cheese making to decide with their taste preferences, and this is a great chance to decide on a change of profession!

Read full article in Russian on DairyNews.ru