A world united in dairy

On 1 June (or thereabouts), we celebrated World Milk Day. What I like about this particular event is that there is no typical overarching theme for the day, except to enjoy and highlight milk – if people and farmers want to get together and have a glass of the white stuff, or listen to a speech, or have a fun run, that’s fine. Milan’s Expo had a dress code on 29 May, for example. White was the desired colour, of course. Along with World School Milk Day, these two events highlight the integral place milk holds in many societies globally.

Another exciting event was British Cheese Week, which saw cheese lovers and participants throughout the country enjoying all of the 700-odd varieties of cheese that are produced on these isles. Myself, I delight in finding a new cheese that I had not heard of before, and there seems to be a never-ending supply of cheese makers who try something new with the British milk supply. At this point, you can enjoy just about every type of cheese made on a domestic level here in the UK – Gouda made in the southwest, Brie, also from the Southwest, halloumi from the southeast, Greek-type white cheese from the northeast, just to name a few.

It is something that other countries, such as the US, would do well to emulate. I went to a local cheesemonger near my hometown in New York, and was a bit disappointed to find an array of cheeses from France, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, but very little in the way of domestic artisan cheeses. In a way, it is a very good thing for European cheese makers. Americans love a European cheese and will pay a premium for the PDOs, but I felt it was a bit sad that the local store couldn’t provide me with locally made cheese. I comforted myself by buying a nice wedge of Stilton, an aged Gouda and some fresh goat cheese, after some discussion over what 100 or 200 grams translated to in old weights. I think the last one was local-ish, but still crossed state lines. New York has a thriving dairy industry now, so a bit of more diversion to cheese would not go amiss.

But hey ho, at least there was a cheesemonger in the town, which is an improvement over five years ago. It is like the brewing industry in the US, which has seen its artisan sector grow by leaps and bounds over the last 15 years. I hope that next time I visit, more local cheese will be on the board. At any rate, that will be my excuse to visit again.