John Walter with his goats on Auckland's North Shore. Photo / Aucklander
John Walter with his goats on Auckland's North Shore. Photo / Aucklander
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A herd of just 20 goats on a farm surrounded by suburban housing has produced New Zealand's best cheese.
Crescent Dairy Goats "Old Gold" was named Saint Clair Champion of Champions Cheese at the Cuisine NZ Champion Cheese Awards in Auckland last night.
Jan and John Walter's goatsin Albany on Auckland's North Shore "keep city hours", says Jan. "I milk them daily at 8.30am."
In true cottage-industry style, she then pasteurises 16 litres of the morning milk, which is sweeter than milk given later in the day, on her kitchen stove before making it into 2kg of hand-crafted cheese.
The Walters bought their 3ha property when they left teaching in 1979, originally buying goats to provide them with milk.
This year's championship cheese "Old Gold", which also won the Fonterra Champion Original NZ Cheese prize, stood out from all the others, said awards judge and Cuisine food writer Fiona Smith.
"Crescent Dairy Goats manage to get a very subtle and mild flavour out of their cheeses, which is universally popular," she said.
"They know everything that goes into that cheese, from what their goats are eating, to how they are milking the goats. They have control of the beginning of the process right through and the quality shines through."
