Verkhnedvinsk Butter and Cheese Factory Revealed Secrets of Making Elite Cheeses
The factory ships over 400 tons of cheese to the Russian Federation monthly. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Tver, Smolensk...
Shipments, which were forcibly suspended for almost a year, resumed to almost all destinations after permission was granted.
– Our regular partners, – explained Svetlana Tsyro, head of the sales and supply department of the enterprise, – willingly continued their cooperation, as they have known our products for a long time and are confident in their consistently high quality, which has been repeatedly recognized by awards at international exhibitions and competitions. We will continue to expand the geography of our exports.
The enterprise produces more than 20 types of semi-hard and hard cheeses. Traditional ones – Russian, Dutch groups – are under the brand "Yan Syrodel", while the trademark "Algird" has been introduced for elite cheeses: these are the most sought-after by Russian buyers, and their share in the total production volume is 70%.
Chief Technologist Natalia Kashcheeva: The market today demands elite cheeses, the future is with them
– The market today demands elite cheeses, the future is with them. European producers widely represent this line in retail chains, and we also do not want to lag behind: we will continue to improve in this direction, – said Natalia Kashcheeva, the chief technologist of the enterprise, inviting us to see how the cheesemaking process takes place.
It is not for nothing that they say that this is an art – akin to a sacrament. To obtain an excellent product, one must not only strictly adhere to technological requirements, control quality, maintain a high production culture, but also love one's work, invest a part of one's soul into it.
– We carefully select personnel and constantly improve their qualifications. There are no indifferent, random people here; each employee can be relied upon, – Natalia Grigoryevna revealed one of the secrets of success.
All Verkhnedvinsk cheeses are produced on the Austrian technological line "Berch-Laska" – a compact, convenient, and one of the most modern in Europe. It operates non-stop and processes 240 tons of milk per day.
One ton of cheese requires 10 tons of milk
In four huge cheese makers, the curd is separated from the whey and fed to presses, where cheese wheels are formed. After salting, they are packaged and then sent for ripening in special chambers. At this stage, the product's taste, pattern, aroma, and required consistency are formed.
For example, cheeses with propionic acid bacteria, due to which large eyes are formed in the mass, ripen for 40 days. Of these, 10-12 days are spent in a fermentation chamber at a temperature of 20-22 degrees. Every three days, each wheel is inspected and turned. Proper care, utmost attention, and a responsible attitude of specialists to their duties are very important.
The longer the aging, the better the taste, texture, color, and aroma
The pride of the cheesemakers is "Parmesan Classic" with a ripening period of 90 days, which was awarded a gold medal at the international exhibition "Prodexpo" in Moscow, and "Parmesan Classic" aged, ripening for 180 days, received the Grand Prix of the popular tasting competition "Champion of Taste".
Other representatives of the elite group also have prestigious awards – "Gouda", "Emmental", royal "Monarch", "Asiago", "Maasdam" cheeses.
Such high evaluations from experts and consumers once again confirm that Verkhnedvinsk producers are successfully implementing foreign technologies in the domestic market and creating products that are as close as possible to European counterparts in their characteristics.
Soon, the range will be expanded with the delicate creamy cheese "Philadelphia"
Soon, the range will be expanded by the delicate creamy cheese "Philadelphia" – the documentation for its production is currently undergoing approval. Having produced trial batches of the new product, specialists determined the optimal technological parameters and, through a blind tasting, selected the necessary consistency, taste, and structure.
– We decided to make the taste neutral so that customers can use the cheese in both sweet and savory dishes. We hope our new product will be successful – we will make every effort for this, – noted the chief technologist of the dairy plant, Natalia Kashchaeva.