KOCHI: The classic Tom and Jerry cartoon series has played a pivotal part in every child’s life; at least to the '90s kids who grew up watching it. Tom setting traps to catch Jerry, the wild harum-scarum chase which got a lot of laughs not just from kids but also from the older crowd. But one thing that hits the eye is the yellow wedge-shaped cheese. Even the animation movie 'Ratatouille' in which everyone's favourite gourmet rat, Remy, whips up Mascarpone cheese and strawberries, leading to the discovery of the decadent strawberry cheesecake, had viewers craving for a piece of the creamy goodness.
For Casaro Creamery, the Kerala-based cheese making unit, it was a challenge to go against the humid weather to bring the yummy chunks of cheese out of the Disney screen to Kerala. The idea of starting a cheese making unit hit Anu Joseph when she could not find the right cheese anywhere in her native town, Irinjalakuda, for making tiramisu. “My husband and I were in the US for two to three years- which is when I was introduced to the world of cheese. I had gone for a couple of workshops on cheese making in South Carolina. When we came to India, we did not find any authentic handcrafted cheeses. That is when I decided to put my cheese making skills to test,” says Anu.
Anu joined hands with her cousin Freddy George, who was working with TCS in Bangalore, to kick start their company. Together, they started to supply cheese to their relatives, who encouraged them to go big.
“I always wanted to do something on my own and when Anu told me about the idea, I was super excited. I would say it is a dream project for both of us and the initial response was a great boost for us,” says Freddy.
Currently, Casaro Creamery makes six types of cheese-Greek Halloumi and Feta cheese, the Italian Mozzarella, Ricotta and Mascarpone cheese and the American Cream cheese. “Halloumi is my personal favorite. The uniqueness of this cheese is that it does not melt when you fry or grill it. And it is very flavorful,” says Anu.
According to her, one of the main challenges that they face is getting good quality bacterial culture.
“We use farm fresh milk which we have tested for quality and we get our cultures from Mumbai. We source the rennet, which is the coagulant, from the New England Cheese Making Supply Company, South Deerfield, Massachusetts. It is so amazing to see the humble milk transform into chunks of goodness,” she says.
According to Freddy, people have slowly started getting the idea of cheese and the way to use them.
“Most of our clients are from Kochi and we deliver cheese all the way to Irinjalakuda, twice a week. Women in the city have an interest to venture into Western styles of cooking, which is one of the reasons why we have customers here. Apart from that, who wouldn’t want some fresh and reasonably priced cheese?” he says.
Anu wants to start a confectionary where every product would contain a cheese from their creamery.
“I also want to start classes on cooking with cheese. We are already selling ricotta cheese samosas, halloumi fries and cream cheese cinnamon rolls just to introduce different kinds of starters and desserts that can be made with cheese. We hope to see cheese become a part of every family in Kerala,” Anu adds.