Goodness, It’s Gouda

Sounds incongruous? Well, maybe not. Elegant wine and cheese parties have nudged their way past tikka-whisky evenings in Pune, Mumbai and Delhi, where Gouda or Cheddar are a regular with Chablis or Bordeaux wine; cheese platters are being laid out by Delhi-based restaurateur Ritu Dalmia at her Italian bistro, Diva; and Rishi Bhardwaj, kitchen chef at the Oberois in the Capital has to replenish the cheese platter a bit too often as compared to last year. So, has cheese finally arrived in India?

Conventionally, Indians are not known to have a tongue for the pungent. While processed cheese (basically Amul), has been around for decades, travel and culinary adventure have made people sit up to the natural taste of Gouda, Emmenthal and Mozzarella. Independent studies conducted last year revealed that the western and northern regions have the highest number of cheese eaters while the south and east are still to acquire the taste for cheese.

Says Vishwant Kumar, executive director of the plush supermarket Modern Bazaar in the Capital, ‘‘I have been in this business since 1982. Earlier, only foreigners would buy natural cheese, but in the last few years, 80 per cent Indians buy Gouda or Smoked Scamorza as compared to 20 per cent foreigners.’’ Moreover, Kuldip Shanker, owner of Steakhouse, a food store in the quadrangular market of Jorbagh in New Delhi, claims that 33 per cent of his annual earnings are incurred from selling cheese, especially Gouda, to not only the diplomat circuit but urbane Indians.

Through the 1970s and ’80s, the sheer entrepreneurial spirit of Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) ensured its monopoly over the cheese market, with its short, squat cubes creating a sensation when they first appeared in the early 70s under Operation Flood. Cheese lovers (which Mark Manuel, executive editor, Upper Crust magazine estimates to be not more than 5 per cent) did not have much choice — either they made do with Amul or shelled out upwards of Rs 400 for portions of their imported favourites like Red Edam, Brie and Cheddar.

However, things changed considerably in the mid-90s, when a liberalised economic policy resulted in de-licensing the dairy industry. While overseas players such as Le Bon and Kraft soon entered the market, Indian cheese makers such as Ashish Cheese Products, Kalimpong Cheese Makers, ABC Pvt Foods Ltd, Poshtik Milk Foods and Flanders Dairy Products were quick to establish their presence in the market. And with people.

Says Diva’s Dalmia, who trained under the Grande Dame of Sicilian cuisine, the 70-year-old eccentric Anna Tasca Lanza, ‘‘Five years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to recommend Blue Cheese or Stilton to people. But today, they know their tastes and know exactly what to order: whether it is Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta, or Smoked Scamorza, widely consumed in baked pasta and rice salads. Gouda and Cheddar continue to be the heavy favourite, though Ricotta is growing in popularity. I am now planning a cheese platter after dessert, a trademark European concept.’’

Sunil Bhu of Flanders, worked on a farm in Belgium, Holland and a Mozzarella factory in Italy, for three years before returning to India to start his own cheese farm. He first began making Gouda at home with the milk milched from one cow in his backyard in 1987, and entered the commercial Indian market in 1995. Today, Gouda and Ricotta made by Flanders are as creditable a name as their European counterparts.

Chef Bhardwaj appears upbeat about the potential that India holds for natural cheese. ‘‘Import orders for cheese has nearly doubled in the last two years. We have to constantly replenish the cheese platter that we lay out as part of the breakfast buffet. Clients have been exposed to finer varieties of natural cheese such as Cheddar, Brie and Emmenthal.’’ Meanwhile, for Chef Pankaj Mehra, experience at La Rochelle, in the same hotel, has demonstrated that Emmenthal and Brie are the preferred choices. ‘‘It’s growing in popularity as Indians have become increasingly fond of quiche and Emmenthal cheese is best used in quiches, sandwiches and in salads,’’ informs Mehra. ‘‘Parmesan in Ceasar’s Salad is another favourite. However, I am confident that once they are exposed to more varieties of cuisine, such as Roesti or Fondue, their palates will be enriched,’’ adds Bhardwaj.

A view which culinary queen Karen Anand shares wholeheartedly, but isn’t as upbeat about the milieu as her counterparts. ‘‘Indians are genetically experimental with new cuisine. But it has to be made available to them. I make Cheddar at home but I can expose it to 300 people at the most. Even in Delhi, there are barely a handful of outlets where you can get Gouda or Mozzarella or Ricotta. There is just no infrastructure here. We need good cold storage and transportation facilities. And, of course, we need to expose people to more variety.’’

Incidentally, Bruno Cerdan, executive Chef at Hotel Imperial in the Capital would like to agree with Anand. ‘‘I wish we could have more variety here. Indians have tried new varieties like Danish Blue and Gorgonzolla and it would be great if we could introduce, say, goat’s cheese, which is hard but tastes delicious. But we can’t get that milk here, and there are no transportation facilities. More importantly, the Indian government has to relax import rules a bit.’’

Arvinder Singh Dhingra, a businessman in the Capital cannot live without Mozzarella and Bocconcini today. ‘‘I hated the first time I tasted Blue Cheese, the odour was too pungent. But now almost every weekend I have Gouda or Bocconcini that I serve to my guests as dessert or salad,’’ remarks Dhingra, who is a regular at Delhi’s Steakhouse.

Metros aside, even smaller cities do not lag behind. Mohanbir Singh, who owns a popular fast food chain called Hotmillion in Chandigarh, says, ‘‘I have been in this business for seven years and I have seen the consumption and popularity of cheese such as Mozzarella and Gouda go up in the last two years. People have started making pastas and pizzas at home, therefore, Gorgonzolla and Mozzarella are hot items.

Evidently, Pune cannot be left behind when talking about non-processed cheese. Pune-based ABC Farms Private Limited, which is among the leading manufacturers of cheese — both processed and non processed, have been concentrating on natural cheeses, making them acceptable, palatable and popular. ‘‘Our thrust is on cultivating in people the habit of eating natural cheeses like Mozzarella, Gouda, Mascarpone, Boursin, Colby among the cow milk cheeses and Feta, in goat’s milk cheese,’’ beams ABC’s director Sohrab Chinoy. There are over a thousand varieties of cheese in the world, we make about 60 here,’’ he declares proudly. Even vegetarians are willing to experiment with cheese, explains Chinoy, as all the cheeses in India are supposedly made with plant rennet (enzyme), as opposed to rennet from animal.

Chinoy also believes that cheese has moved from being an elite product to more comfortable environs. ‘‘Cheese is no longer an upmarket commodity. People from all walks of life are buying it and experimenting with different flavours. I have been getting requests for unusual flavours of cheese as well. Recently, a group from Mumbai wanted walnut and whisky flavoured cheese and that too 30 kilos of it!’’

Clearly, big cheese makers like Flanders and ABC have not left much room for small budget salesmen such as Jasbir Singh, who markets only the strong, Yak cheese (manufactured in Nepal) to retail outlets in Shimla, Chandigarh and Delhi. Yet, the contribution made by operators such as Singh is significant enough to create an impact on the cheese industry. ‘‘My share of the market may not be more than 0.03 per cent but I make a comfortable living out of selling Yak cheese,’’ says a smiling Singh.

So, are you ready for Red Edam?