Three-Cheese-High
Valentin Daberer processes the raw milk from his 12 cows daily at the organic cheese farm in Stollwitz near St. Daniel into three types of cheese. This includes organic farm cheese - a semi-hard cheese - Gailtaler organic mountain cheese, and the organic soft cheese Camemberg, the alpine counterpart to the classic from Normandy. How does one milk turn into different cheeses? How often is a cheese wheel handled during its maturation until it is ripe for tasting, and what should you never do with cheese? Many questions that Valentin is happy to answer because for him, cheese is a declaration of love.
“What does it take for a good cheese? Of course, fresh organic raw milk and time to mature.” Therefore, Valentin Daberer begins his cheese-making work every day at 4:30 with his own cows in the barn, fully aware that every touch is important. Experience and mindfulness go hand in hand here. What looks like years of routine is also new for the young farmer and cheesemaker. Just this January, he took over the organic cheese farm, which is situated at an elevation of 840 meters above the village of St. Daniel. He then started cheese-making in February. “I did get a sniff of it last summer, but the decision to take over the organic cheese farm only came in autumn, and here I am now. My life revolves around cheese.” Growing up on a farm in St. Daniel, attending agricultural school with a focus on dairy farming, a project work entitled “Farmer in the Cheesery,” and the subsequent apprenticeship in the Nockberge cheese dairy show that Valentin must indeed have an old cheese soul.
Absolutely in the Copper Kettle
Slowly, the processing of the raw milk begins. The fresh cow's milk is poured directly into a tank and remains there for a day at around 8 degrees to allow the flora of the raw milk to develop, and the milk begins to sour. The cheese kettle is sustainably heated with wood chips, and the delicate raw milk is gently transported by gravity instead of through burdensome pumping processes. The next day, the milk goes into the copper kettle, is heated, and inoculated with the corresponding lactic acid bacteria. Valentin places great importance on the copper kettle, as it is used in alpine dairies and for renowned international cheeses. “Copper has excellent thermal conductivity, which means the heat in the kettle is distributed evenly. Copper can interact with milk proteins and milk fats and supports the coagulation process, flavors develop better, and copper naturally has antibacterial properties,” explains Valentin.
Depending on the type of cheese, the cheesemaker chooses different bacterial cultures. The milk is then thickened with rennet. The duration of this thickening varies from cheese to cheese; it doesn’t function the same every day, sometimes it takes longer, sometimes shorter, after all, the milk at the organic cheese farm is a natural product. What factors are crucial for this? “It can vary widely. What the cow has eaten, whether it was agitated or annoyed by another cow. Sometimes I can't explain it either. It’s just not an industrial product.”
About Sensitivity and the Fall Test
The milk is now thickened and is cut, and the whey separates from the curd. Valentin works by the rule of thumb: The smaller the curd grain, the harder the cheese will be. How long the curd grain stays in the whey and how strongly it is reheated also vary from cheese to cheese. To understand the curd, you have to handle it, work with your hands, and demonstrate sensitivity. With the fall test, which he primarily does with soft cheese, Valentin determines whether the curd grain is firm enough. “I let the curd fall into my hand. If it breaks, it’s not ready yet; if the curd grain remains intact, then it’s ready to be filled into the cheese molds.” For mountain and semi-hard cheese, there are two large cheese molds, while for Camemberg, there are smaller ones, about 100 pieces. And what happens to the whey? “We certainly don’t throw it away but give it – like it used to be done – to the pigs on the farm. They love the whey drink, and their meat becomes wonderfully tender.”
The pressing is another important step in the cheese's development. The pressure, turning, and reapplying pressure are crucial. Then the process gets biochemical, keyword osmosis, the cheese goes into the salt bath, where it stays for up to three days. “The harder the cheese, the longer the exchange of salt and cheese takes,” Valentin explains this process.
In the Cheesemaker's Treasure Chamber
Finally, the cheese can move to the aging cellar, which for Valentin does not mean he has nothing more to do. In the first three weeks, the cheese is treated daily with a brine inoculated with red smear bacteria or smeared, as the cheesemaker says. The aging cellar at the organic cheese farm was built from old Wiener bricks and sealed with rammed earth, thereby avoiding cement entirely. A 1.5-meter-thick earth cover ensures a constant temperature of 12 to 15°C and a high humidity of 92 to 94%, creating ideal conditions for cheese refinement. The cellar breathes and allows the air to circulate naturally – completely without technical aids. These perfect conditions are also appreciated by the microorganisms responsible for the cheese's maturation. Gailtaler organic mountain cheese ages here for at least four months, while the organic farm cheese takes about eight weeks to develop its mild aromatic to spicy round flavor.
Until a cheese wheel is ripe for tasting, Valentin has handled it 70 to even 100 times, lovingly bringing it piece by piece to perfection. 300 liters of milk have been transformed into around 30 kilos of cheese. The moment has come; it can be tasted, and the palate is in bright anticipation, discovering the Camembert as a creamy caress full of tender melting sensuality. The organic farm cheese shows itself charmingly, playing with flavors, complex in taste. The Gailtaler organic mountain cheese is pure tradition begging to be bitten into, firm yet creamy, with the herb and flower power of the Gailtaler meadows.
There remains only the question of what one should never do with cheese? “Eat it cold,” laughs Valentin. “Never directly from the refrigerator because the aroma and texture of the cheese do not come into their own at low temperatures. “Cheese tastes best to me straight from the aging cellar.” A luxury that Valentin enjoys. After all, he loves cheese and still has a lot to achieve. But that is another story.
Tip: The organic cheese farm offers excursions, cheese tastings, and a Slow Food Travel experience.
Valentin Daberer processes the raw milk from his 12 cows daily at the organic cheese farm in Stollwitz near St. Daniel into three types of cheese. This includes organic farm cheese - a semi-hard cheese - Gailtaler organic mountain cheese, and the organic soft cheese Camemberg, the alpine counterpart to the classic from Normandy. How does one milk turn into different cheeses? How often is a cheese wheel handled during its maturation until it is ripe for tasting, and what should you never do with cheese? Many questions that Valentin is happy to answer because for him, cheese is a declaration of love.
“What does it take for a good cheese? Of course, fresh organic raw milk and time to mature.” Therefore, Valentin Daberer begins his cheese-making work every day at 4:30 with his own cows in the barn, fully aware that every touch is important. Experience and mindfulness go hand in hand here. What looks like years of routine is also new for the young farmer and cheesemaker. Just this January, he took over the organic cheese farm, which is situated at an elevation of 840 meters above the village of St. Daniel. He then started cheese-making in February. “I did get a sniff of it last summer, but the decision to take over the organic cheese farm only came in autumn, and here I am now. My life revolves around cheese.” Growing up on a farm in St. Daniel, attending agricultural school with a focus on dairy farming, a project work entitled “Farmer in the Cheesery,” and the subsequent apprenticeship in the Nockberge cheese dairy show that Valentin must indeed have an old cheese soul.
Absolutely in the Copper Kettle
Slowly, the processing of the raw milk begins. The fresh cow's milk is poured directly into a tank and remains there for a day at around 8 degrees to allow the flora of the raw milk to develop, and the milk begins to sour. The cheese kettle is sustainably heated with wood chips, and the delicate raw milk is gently transported by gravity instead of through burdensome pumping processes. The next day, the milk goes into the copper kettle, is heated, and inoculated with the corresponding lactic acid bacteria. Valentin places great importance on the copper kettle, as it is used in alpine dairies and for renowned international cheeses. “Copper has excellent thermal conductivity, which means the heat in the kettle is distributed evenly. Copper can interact with milk proteins and milk fats and supports the coagulation process, flavors develop better, and copper naturally has antibacterial properties,” explains Valentin.
Depending on the type of cheese, the cheesemaker chooses different bacterial cultures. The milk is then thickened with rennet. The duration of this thickening varies from cheese to cheese; it doesn’t function the same every day, sometimes it takes longer, sometimes shorter, after all, the milk at the organic cheese farm is a natural product. What factors are crucial for this? “It can vary widely. What the cow has eaten, whether it was agitated or annoyed by another cow. Sometimes I can't explain it either. It’s just not an industrial product.”
About Sensitivity and the Fall Test
The milk is now thickened and is cut, and the whey separates from the curd. Valentin works by the rule of thumb: The smaller the curd grain, the harder the cheese will be. How long the curd grain stays in the whey and how strongly it is reheated also vary from cheese to cheese. To understand the curd, you have to handle it, work with your hands, and demonstrate sensitivity. With the fall test, which he primarily does with soft cheese, Valentin determines whether the curd grain is firm enough. “I let the curd fall into my hand. If it breaks, it’s not ready yet; if the curd grain remains intact, then it’s ready to be filled into the cheese molds.” For mountain and semi-hard cheese, there are two large cheese molds, while for Camemberg, there are smaller ones, about 100 pieces. And what happens to the whey? “We certainly don’t throw it away but give it – like it used to be done – to the pigs on the farm. They love the whey drink, and their meat becomes wonderfully tender.”
The pressing is another important step in the cheese's development. The pressure, turning, and reapplying pressure are crucial. Then the process gets biochemical, keyword osmosis, the cheese goes into the salt bath, where it stays for up to three days. “The harder the cheese, the longer the exchange of salt and cheese takes,” Valentin explains this process.
In the Cheesemaker's Treasure Chamber
Finally, the cheese can move to the aging cellar, which for Valentin does not mean he has nothing more to do. In the first three weeks, the cheese is treated daily with a brine inoculated with red smear bacteria or smeared, as the cheesemaker says. The aging cellar at the organic cheese farm was built from old Wiener bricks and sealed with rammed earth, thereby avoiding cement entirely. A 1.5-meter-thick earth cover ensures a constant temperature of 12 to 15°C and a high humidity of 92 to 94%, creating ideal conditions for cheese refinement. The cellar breathes and allows the air to circulate naturally – completely without technical aids. These perfect conditions are also appreciated by the microorganisms responsible for the cheese's maturation. Gailtaler organic mountain cheese ages here for at least four months, while the organic farm cheese takes about eight weeks to develop its mild aromatic to spicy round flavor.
Until a cheese wheel is ripe for tasting, Valentin has handled it 70 to even 100 times, lovingly bringing it piece by piece to perfection. 300 liters of milk have been transformed into around 30 kilos of cheese. The moment has come; it can be tasted, and the palate is in bright anticipation, discovering the Camembert as a creamy caress full of tender melting sensuality. The organic farm cheese shows itself charmingly, playing with flavors, complex in taste. The Gailtaler organic mountain cheese is pure tradition begging to be bitten into, firm yet creamy, with the herb and flower power of the Gailtaler meadows.
There remains only the question of what one should never do with cheese? “Eat it cold,” laughs Valentin. “Never directly from the refrigerator because the aroma and texture of the cheese do not come into their own at low temperatures. “Cheese tastes best to me straight from the aging cellar.” A luxury that Valentin enjoys. After all, he loves cheese and still has a lot to achieve. But that is another story.
Tip: The organic cheese farm offers excursions, cheese tastings, and a Slow Food Travel experience.
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The Nassfeld-Pressegger See holiday region lies in the Austrian province of Carinthia, directly next to the Italian border.
