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Curds & Whey – March 2009
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| Autumn
News |
The regular rhythm of autumn arrives at Alexandrina
Cheese, Mt Jagged, South Australia.
Hello
from Alexandrina Cheese,
We are back at the Willunga Farmers Market this Saturday 7th March 2009
(read on further...!)
We all enjoy autumn...as the days get shorter, as the sun
sets in beautiful colour, as the crisp apples & pears are in
season, and it is when our herd of Jersey cows begin their autumn
calving. Amongst all of the normal autumnal action, we all know that
autumn calving means converting fresh Jersey milk into the Alexandrina
factory for processing our handmade cheeses & luxury dairy
products. “Blessed are the cheese makers” we continue to exclaim!
We are all thrilled to have seen rain finally fall onto
the farm this week, none happier than all of the other farmers in the
district. It has been a long, hot and dry summer for everyone on the
Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, and many other parts of Australia.
Our thoughts are with all of those in Victoria, and our son/brother who
has relocated to the Goulburn Valley this year. I am sure we are all
glad that the moist and cool autumn days have arrived. We still have
plenty of time before winter in front of us, and as always the more
moisture the better from our perspective.
We are all enjoying the change of season and noticing
the days getting shorter. For us, these shorter days mean early starts
to get the morning milking finished, the numerous jobs which keep us
busy during the daylight hours, both in the cheese room and the Jersey
herd has started the autumn drop of baby Jersey calves. By the time we
know it is quickly time to head inside to get the house warm, and feed
the family.
These shorter days mean nothing better to us that an
increase in milk yield as the fresh cows enter the dairy, and leave us
with an enormous amount of rich, creamy milk. It is this milk, this
beautiful autumn milk, that is just the best for cheese-making with its
high percentage of butterfat and protein. Thanks for your patronage
over the last year, we look forward to seeing you again at Easter time,
or during Winter, Spring and Summer 2009. Enjoy the leaves falling, and
eating the best cheeses of the year at this time.
Regards, Rebekah McCaul
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Autumn
is here, and we are back at the Willunga Farmers Market –
every fortnight!
We
venture out for our first market of the year on Saturday 7th March
2009. That is this Saturday! Hours are 8am until 12:30pm. See you there
bright and early!
We
will have all the usual favorites at our stall, including Pure Jersey
Cream, Crème Fraiche, Fresh Ricotta, Full Cream Jersey Milk, and all
the hard cheeses – Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Feta, Pepato. If you have
forgotten what they taste like, head over to our stall “At Meat Street
/ Dairy Lovers Lane” and find the tasting bench to refresh your memory.
We share a stall with Mt Compass Venison, so be sure to dwell for a
chat with Judith while you are at the market.
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Come
and see us!
If you can’t make the market, please remember that
Alexandrina Cheese is open our regular weekend hours 10am-4:30pm, as
well as daily opening hours from 12noon-5pm. There seems to be no
excuse not to eat local this week!
Visit us at www.alexandrinacheese.com.au.
Be sure to find our “Cheese of the Season” published in
our enews, each season.
We have selected our cheese of the season, and it is our
Finniss River Romano. This cheese is aged for 12-15mths. It is best
used shaved or grated on savoury foods. It goes brilliantly with all
the ripe, red tomatoes which are available at the moment. We admit that
it is perfect as a Table Romano, just cut it with a sharp knife and eat
it with fresh bread for lunches.
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Alexandrina Cheese will be at the wonderful
Willunga Farmers Market in 2009 – every fortnight!
Dates - Autumn is here!
This Saturday 7th March 2009 & Saturday 21st March 2009
Saturday 11th April 2009 (Easter) & Saturday 25th April 2009
Saturday 9th May 2009 & Saturday 23rd May 2009
Dates - Winter on the way!
Saturday 6th June 2009 (Queen’s Birthday) &
Saturday 20th June 2009
Saturday 4th July 2009 & Saturday 18th July 2009
(away Saturday 1st August 2009)
Saturday 8th August 2009 & Saturday 22nd August 2009
For Market or Event updates visit the Quick Links at www.alexandrinacheese.com.au.
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Have you got this season’s recipe from Alexandrina
Cheese?
Celebrate the new season with this lovely cake,
and enjoy a slice of very juicy Apple Torte.
Try this recipe, using our Traditional Jersey Ricotta;
made with whey from cheese processing, skim milk, fresh lemon juice.
This Very Juicy Apple Torte is wonderful to share with friends over the
weekend, and a couple of pieces may even last into the early week for a
treat after dinner (don’t forget the tub of Pure Jersey Cream!).
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VERY
JUICY APPLE TORTE
Ingredients for the base:
300 gm Self Raising Flour, 150g butter, 150 g sugar, 1 egg
Rub butter into flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add sugar
and egg, mixing well. Spread two-thirds of the mixture into a greased
spring form pan.
Ingredients for the filling:
500gm apples peeled & sliced (Alexandrina apples if possible!), 1
tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 eggs,
100g sugar, rind of lemon, 500gm Alexandrina Traditional Jersey
Ricotta, 40 g semolina.
Method for this cake:
Place apples, 1 T sugar, cinnamon and vanilla into a saucepan and
simmer until apples are tender, approximately six minutes. Beat eggs
and 100g sugar until foamy. Add lemon rind, ricotta cheese and
semolina. Strain excess juice from apples and spread on top of crumb
base. Top with cheese mixture. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture over
the cheese. Bake at 180 C fir approximately 1 hour. Turn off oven and
allow torte to cool in over for ten minutes.
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Newsflash! – National recognition for Pepato
Dan and Krystyna McCaul received an exciting certificate
in February 2009. Our James Flat Pepato received the prestigious title
of Finalist in the 2009 Australian Grand Dairy Awards! Five of our
products were able to sit on the judging table among Australia’s best
cheeses and dairy products. The selection is made from the Gold Medal
products won at the South Australian Dairy Awards held each year in
September. This year we had the most products entered including
Alexandrina Vintage Cheddar, Encounter Bay Edam, James Flat Pepato,
Marinated Feta (chilli) and the Pure Jersey Cream. In November 2008 a
panel of expert judges tasted over 360 dairy products. The AGDA
celebrate quality, excellence and innovation in Australian dairy
produce. Medal and finalists provides national recognition that your
product is the ‘Best of the Best’ and is a way for consumers to
identify product that are of superior quality and excellent taste. We
were thrilled with the result, and happy to see the Pepato receive this
recognition. Be sure to pick up a big piece of Pepato from any of our
Stockists (click here for information on How to Buy?).
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Easter Hampers – along with wonderful Easter Picnics,
Easter buns and Easter bonnets...
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What
better way to enjoy the Easter weekend than with the fridge stocked
with hard cheeses. Orders are open now for gorgeous gift wrapped Easter
Hampers from Alexandrina Cheese Company. For Easter, we have three
special Easter Hampers available – Ploughman’s, Queen’s& King’s
Hampers. Each hamper will include a special edition NEW Alexandrina
Cooler Bag, with printed logo, and it will be full of hard cheeses. For
more information about Easter Hampers please click on Details &
Booking Forms our website or contact the factory (Krystyna or Rebekah)
for a brochure on T 85549666. Last delivery for Easter Hampers on
Thursday April 9th 2009.
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A
little bit of fun at Alexandrina Cheese!
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2008
ended with a fantastic effort from all the team at Alexandrina Cheese
in the Victor Harbor Christmas Parade on the 13th December 2008. Cloudy
sky, light rain and wind did not prevent us from having a fantastic
time. We organized a float to represent the theme “Hey diddle, diddle!,
the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon, the little dog
laughed to see such fun, and the dish ran away with the spoon.
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Thank you to all the staff, family, friends and a few
“ring-ins” for your help. We had so much help with concept, design,
costumes, and the performance – quite an amazing production.
A special thanks to Helen for dressing as the dish! It
all went off with a bang, and was such buzz walking down the very busy
main street of Victor Harbor.
This is the second year we have taken a float down the
street, and if anyone can think of another nursery rhyme, we start
planning in November 2009! See you at the end of the year for more fun
in the sun!
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At Alexandrina we had a great year in 2008, and we hope
that 2009 brings the same fortune to all of our customers, visitors,
friends and family. Keep in touch with our website
www.alexandrinacheese.com.au or phone for a chat on T 8554 9666.
As always, we appreciate your support and enthusiasm!
See you on Saturday at WFM, or any day of the week at Alexandrina
Cheese Company!
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