General News
7 October, 2021
New product launches a taste of Mortlake
SYMONS Organic Dairy has launched a new product with a nod to the town the company has come to call home.
SYMONS Organic Dairy has launched a new product with a nod to the town the company has come to call home.
The recently released Mount Shadwell Organic Cheese, named after the iconic Mount Shadwell which looks over the town, is based on Mousseron cheese originally developed by Christian Nicollet, who operated a local cheese factory in Les Moussieres in the Jura Mountains on the Swiss/French border – a region famed for its classic Alpine cheeses.
It’s also the place where third-generation cheesemaker Matthieu Megard, of L’Artisan Cheese, who partnered with Symons Organic Dairy owner Bruce Symons in the Mortlake venture, grew up.
In 2013 Matthieu invited Christian to visit Australia, where the two made limited quantities of the cheese as part of Bruce and Matthieu’s first collaboration together.
On the strength of that initial foray, Mr Symons decided the time was ripe to produce his own version under the Symons Organic Dairy banner.
“We wanted to make a quintessential Australian cheese following Christian’s recipe, but one which has the unique taste and flavour of the area where it comes from – just like a wine reflecting its terroir,” he said.
The result was Mount Shadwell Organic Cheese – a hand-crafted, semi-hard cheese which sits somewhere between Gruyere and Raclette, paying homage to its traditional Alpine cheese heritage.
The decision to utilise only the finest locally produced biodynamic milk, coupled with an exacting cheese making process where the rind is washed regularly for the first two months, has endowed the cheese with flavour and texture characteristics all of its own.
Mr Symons said the overall result was a sweet nuttiness and an unusual combination of rich, earthy notes, all of which ensure the cheese more than stands up against its European counterparts.
“We really want to put Mortlake and Symons Organic Dairy on the map,” he said.
“We’re delighted we’ve been able to develop a locally made gourmet organic product, which showcases our farmers and the truly unique aspects of their milk.’’
Mount Shadwell Organic Cheese is available in selected retailers in south west Victoria, including Bates IGA in Mortlake.
The new cheese is already proving popular with locals and those further afield with stockists including Toscano’s, McCoppin’s, Barkley Johnson and Skinner & Hacket in Melbourne, and Ebden and Olive in Albury.
