The previous night we had dinner at Mango Hill. And had a chance encounter with Francois & Oliver, Proprietors & caretakers of Mango Hill. Thank god I wore my "I love Paris" T-shirt which made the two Frenchmen, one of them a Parisian, a little amused and hopefully a little happy. We were startled to learn that they make homemade cheeses right in Auroville, in their hotel. We were immediately curious to know about the art of cheese making. I gingerly approached Francois for a tour of of their cheese factory. After a bit of deliberation, we settled for a time the next day for the tour. Yeah, Success!
I remember going to Cadbury's factory in Mumbai to learn about chocolate making. As curious as I am about everything in life, I also always wanted to know how cheese is made. The only simple reason I have to give is that I do like good cheese but never thought could find a cheese maker here in India. Well I was lucky!
We reached an hour late for the tour. However, Mango Hill was very kind. After all they live in India and hope they know about IST-Indian stretched time!
Mango hill has an experienced & chirpy cheese master, Shiva. He keeps track & carries out all the necessary processes for making the delicious cheeses.So let me share what we learnt about cheese making that day:
Everyday fresh milk is obtained from the local farmers and they are boiled to a certain temperature and left to cool. The milk is cooled , the enzymes are added. After the milk curdles, it gets strained and put in molds.These molds are then kept under pressure to strain out the excess water. They are then labelled and kept in the maturing room. Depending on the cheese type, the enzymes & the maturing time differs.
Francois & Oliver proudly showed us their cellar where the cheeses are aged. And what a nice array of cheese! Considering the climate, the difficulties and the relatively new interest of cheese in India, I think Mango hill cheeses have a good future. Prepare yourselves for seeing them in shelves across departmental stores soon .I can vouch for the taste (although am a new connoisseur) as me & my friend went on a spree of buying and tasting the different cheeses they had to offer...Gouda, Cumin gouda, Borsalino, Mozzarella, Farmer's cheese, Blu (V's favorite, not mine).
Over a nice cup of coffee and some cheese, we shared stories & views through topics that links & interlinks. Perhaps that is the best part of meeting new people ....as you always learn about new things, new views and about ambitions never heard before. Perhaps it was the best part of the afternoon!
When you are in Auroville, do visit the charming Mango Hill (on old Auroville road) not only for the cheeses but for their wonderful hospitality. Who says French are snobby, atleast not the ones we met that day.Thank you Oliver and thanks especially Francois for sharing your "Top-secrets".
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