Barry's Bay Cheese... Banks Peninsula

 Since I have been in Christchurch most of my time has been

consumed looking after my father and considering a move

for him into full care... But we have been out and about.

We set off one day, heading to Banks Peninsula and

Barry's Bay to find the famous cheese factory...

In this photo Barry's Bay is just to the left of Onawe

at the head of the Akaroa Harbour...

 The view from the top of the hills looking down to Akaroa...

 And we came to Barry's Bay...

And the cheese factory... Where cheese has been made

since 1895 when it produced its first cheddar...

It has been made the traditional way, preserving

the original methods. It takes a lot of time and

love... But they have won a lot of awards.

Read the story here...

It's a beautiful, historical building...

All by itself among the paddocks...

During the cheese making season, cheese is made every other

day. There is a shop and tasting room and on one side of

this room there is a huge window where you can view the

whole cheese making process. Here is the long vat that

is filled with milk then the culture added. This turns the

milk into curds and whey as it is stirred...

Here all the whey has been drained off... the curd is chopped

 up with big rollers with spikes on them... The curd is pushed

to one end of the vat, the whey continually draining off...

It is then cut into large square slabs, the squares in the middle 

of the vat are piled on top of the outer rows of squares then

each square, two slabs deep is manually put into round containers,

each lined with a net basket... So the whey continues to drain out.

The round containers are then stacked and pressed for four

hours then the cheeses are put into another vat of brine.

These continuing processes are to remove the whey and

create hard cheese...

Cheese rounds removed from the tins they have 

been pressed in... Watch a short video of the

whole process here...

Here the cheese rounds are stacked

Boxed for transport...

 

And here it is.. Ready to eat...

We tasted all on offer and bought several litte

blocks to take home... Have a look at the great

choice and variety here

A great place to visit and taste and buy from

the array of award winning cheeses.

Find a map and details to visit here...