Who: Husband and wife cheesemakers Pieter and Nicky Tromp, Mill Grove Dairy
Where: Millgrove, Yarra Ranges Shire, Wurundjeri Country
Pieter, let’s start with the milk and go from there.
We use 100 per cent Jersey milk from a farm in Gippsland. It’s naturally A2 and creamy, giving a lovely smooth texture to the cheese.
How do you make gouda?
We pasteurise the milk in small batches and add rennet and culture. After the curd has set, we cut it into small pieces and then wash them in hot water to remove the acidic whey, which helps create a smooth, soft structure. We place the cheeses in hoops, drain, dry, and then brine them. When they’re ready, we paint them with layers of a special cheese “paint” made in the Netherlands. It’s not wax and allows the cheese to breathe and mature. We mature our cheeses, turning them weekly or more, for three months for the smaller 5kg cheese, 18 months for the 10kg cheese, and three years for the 15kg cheese. The aged cheeses develop crunchy crystals similar to parmesan and are filled with amino acids and super-delicious. Each gouda is stamped with a different number and registered with a body in the Netherlands.
You make different flavoured gouda?
Some of the cheeses are flavoured with truffle, pepper, cumin, caraway, chilli, nettle, Australian native herbs, or fenugreek.
How should we enjoy gouda?
In the Netherlands, we cube it and serve it for afternoon tea with mustard. Here, I think the younger cheeses are great in toasted sandwiches, fondues or, as one restaurant client does, in a truffled croquette. The cheeses, especially the aged ones, are excellent on a cheeseboard.
And wine?
Our original gouda pairs well with a local Yarra Valley pinot noir. The gouda is flavoured with truffle and native herbs. The stronger-flavoured ones work perfectly with a cool-climate shiraz.
Where do we find you?
Come to the farmers’ markets at Warragul, Coldstream, Trafalgar, Lilydale, Kinglake, or Emerald, or drop by our cheesery and shop at 3039 Warburton Highway, Millgrove, in the Yarra Valley. millgrovedairy.com.au.