{"id":46185,"date":"2023-07-25T17:48:06","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T21:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culturecheesemag.com\/?p=46185"},"modified":"2023-07-27T12:42:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T16:42:18","slug":"reflections-on-cheese-camp-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culturecheesemag.com\/blog\/reflections-on-cheese-camp-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on “Cheese Camp” 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The culture <\/strong>team is still on a high from last week’s American Cheese Society Conference<\/a> in Des Moines, Iowa. The annual event, affectionately dubbed “Cheese Camp” was themed “40 Years of Cheese” in celebration of ACS’ four decades of history. While the announcement of the ACS Judging and Competition winners<\/a> on Wednesday night was certainly a high note, there is more to this well-orchestrated gathering of the cheese community than awards. <\/p>\n\n\n

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In the Welcome Session, Dr. Paul Kindstedt of the University of Vermont warned that “a coalition of activist groups, special interest groups, and commercial enterprises” are using social issues to move young people away from dairy products. The anti-dairy narrative advanced by the plant-based community is “one-sided, unbalanced, and woefully incomplete,” he said, adding that “milk has been designed by nature to enhance the survival of mammals.” The “Why Cheese from Milk” talk was a reprise of the Discover Conference, co-sponsored by the ACS and the American Dairy Science Association, which was all about “merging cutting-edge science with messaging that can win over the public,” said Kindstedt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I noticed an overall change in the sentiment toward talking about vegan cheese,” says Digital and Social Media Editor Josie Krogh. “Last year, vegan ‘cheese’ was talked in whispers and on one panel, with people saying it has no place in ACS discussions. This year, the vegan movement was the topic of the opening speech. I heard many people mention the ‘war on dairy,’ and while that may be a strong way to phrase it, I do think it’s incredibly important to be aware of the information coming at consumers so we can ensure a future for real, animal-based dairy.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Clockwise from left: Bola de Ocosingo; Adobera; Cotija<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

We had a rare opportunity to learn about and taste four traditional Mexican cheeses at two sessions hosted by Jessica Fern\u00e1ndez Lopez<\/a> of Mexican Mongers, Georgina Yescas \u00c1ngeles Trujano of Lactography in Mexico City, and Dr. Aar\u00f3n Gonz\u00e1lez-Cord\u00f3va, of Mexico’s Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n en Alimentaci\u00f3n Desarollo. They explained the history of cheese in Mexico, which dates to the Spanish colonization, and that it was difficult to introduce cheese into the community\/society because milk wasn’t a part of the Mexican diet. Many Mexican cheeses, such as Adobera, are quesos frescos made from cow’s milk and often melted into quesadillas\u2014a national comfort food. Bola de Ocosingo, one of two of the cheeses we tried with a Collective Trademark (similar to a PDO), is molded in a cheesecloth bag that hung for 15 days, then kneaded and rehung. The outside of the bola, or ball, is edible, but hard and wax like; inside the crumbly, dense, double-cream cheese has notes of tropical fruit. Real Mexican cotija is quite different from the versions we find in the U.S. Made in the hard-to-access Michoac\u00e1n mountains with raw cow’s milk and traditional rennet, this cheese is butter yellow with a distinct salty tang reminiscent of pecorino. “It is one of the most smuggled cheeses into the U.S.,” said Lopez. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of the above cheeses are available stateside, but Lopez, Trujano, and Gonz\u00e1lez-Cord\u00f3va are determined to change that. “We are working on improving the impression that Mexican cheese isn’t safe,” said Lopez. We want to be acknowledged for the high standards that exist in the majority of Mexican cheesemaking facilities.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wide range of sessions covered technical topics, cheesemaking creativity and exploration, and the some of the issues facing those who work in the cheese industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative Director Mallory Scyphers shared with us her takeaways from DEI – Recruitment, Retention and Unconscious Bias, co-hosted by Christina Chang of Whole Foods Market, Felicia Rivers of Tillamook County Creamery Association, and Emi Lee of North Coast Food Co-Op. These included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n