All things cheesy: Punekars take a walk on the artisanal side of cheese

When Gayatri participated in a two-hour-long cheesemaking tour, what she was most fascinated with was how something that she had been consuming daily since she was a child, was made right in front of her.

“I have been starting my day with artisanal cheese on toast for years. I was intrigued to see the entire process for the first time,” said Gayatri, who participated in a cheesemaking tour out of her love for handcrafted cheese. While artisanal cheesemaking isn’t new to Pune, the city has been seeing a slow yet hopeful rise when it comes to its desirability, including an interest towards curated cheesemaking tours.

What is artisanal cheese?Unlike processed block cheese, artisanal cheese is handmade and entirely milk based.

The focus here is on natural flavour, quality, and craftsmanship. Artisanal cheese is made in small batches, and generally comes with no preservatives and additives, whereas processed block cheese contains some percentage of original cheese blend along with preservatives and additives.What’s a cheesemaking tour like?The idea is to get a look at how artisanal cheese is made. It starts with understanding what artisanal cheese means, understanding terms like ageing, the processes involved, and how different methods create different styles and flavours.

You are taken through a working creamery, where fresh milk and cream are actively processed into artisan cheeses. “Many people consume regularly but have never actually seen how artisanal cheese is made or aged.

The experience can be eye-opening,” says Daina Sadri, director of a family-run artisanal cheesemaking company, in the business for over four decades.

For Pune based couple, Tarul and Salil Ranade who have been making cheese for seven years, the idea behind building a creamery was to make people understand the concept of artisanal cheese.

"We wanted to let people know how cheese is made, what they can be paired with, and also to take them on a journey. We keep the experience intimate so that you feel like it’s a private experience,” said Salil, founder of a city-based creamery, who first started making cheese at home seven years ago.A walk to experience These tours are immersive, educational, and sensory. Participants walk through the creamery, see how cheeses are aged in the ripening rooms, before ending the tour with a guided tasting.

Astad Bhote, a chef who has been on multiple cheesemaking tours, shared, “The knowledge I get from a cheesemaking tour is quite interesting.My favourite part is the tasting though." By the end of the tours, people say they leave with a better understanding of artisanal cheese, deeper appreciation for the work, skill, and time that goes into producing artisanal cheeses.Pocket pinch for a cheese walk:Rs 1,000-Rs 1,700/person (approx)

Know your cheese, and pairings: