Saturday 7 June 2014

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...

1 comment:

  1. We have been there too and enjoyed some yummy cheeses. Hope things are going well for you and your dad. We are in Blenheim, have bought a home here for us to retire to next winter.
    Take care

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