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Just before Christmas we made a trip out to visit friends near Wingham. It seemed like a good time to also visit a place Ive been meaning to go to for a while - Pine River Cheese. The factory is located in the hamlet  (or really, more of a crossroads with a name) of Pine River and is a nice new (more about that later...) mid-sized facility.


They have an attached store full of their cheese products, as well as a nice selection of complementary food products.


Since it was just before Christmas, they had a good selection of gift boxes and baskets made up.


We had arranged to have a tour of the factory with Vijay Kumar, the factory manager. With our usual impeccable timing, we had arranged to visit on a day when they were not making any cheese. As with everyone who makes cheese, cleaning is a big part of the operation, and at Pine River they make cheese one day and clean the next. This was a cleaning day.


We started upstairs where they have a little cheese museum - a display of old equipment, photos, and notes about the history of the company. There is a seating area for watching films - they get a number of school and group tours coming through. Next year the museum display is to be expanded.


You can also look down and get a panoramic view of the entire factory floor.


Tonnes of gleaming stainless steel, scrubbed and shiny, wait for the milk to be made into cheese tomorrow. Its all extremely bright and new, as a result of a catastrophic fire that destroyed the factory on September 6, 2010. It took 15 months to rebuild, and the factory has only been operating again since February 2012.

As you might suppose, this has had a big effect on their sales and availability, and they are still struggling to get back into the marketplace. Vijay is working hard to expand their profile. Many stores in Bruce county sell Pine River Cheese, and they have recently acquired vans to carry cheese as far as Pickering, London and Waterloo. They are looking to break into the Toronto market. Vijay is thinking about a cheese festival next year too. 


A few of the employees go around and finish the cleaning.


Vats on the factory floor. Pine River Cheese is, I believe, the last remaining farmer-owned cheese co-operative in southwestern Ontario; there are only a few others remaining in Eastern Ontario. All the rest have been bought by large multinational companies. As such, Pine River is also one of the last few companies still making cheese in the traditional way, or as Im inclined to call it, real cheese. Vijay Kumar told me that 95% of cheese now being made (in Ontario? in North America?) has had the cream removed and replaced with what he referred to as margarine, or with modified milk ingredients.

If you think cheese doesnt taste as good as it used to, that would be why! Unfortunately, its hard to find Pine River Cheese unless you live in the general area around Lake Huron. They are gearing up to full production again, but they lost a lot of customers after being mostly out of business for more than a year after the fire.

When you do find real cheese like Pine Rivers, you have to expect to pay more for it than you would for the stuff made with cheap filler ingredients. I have to say though, that Pine River is the most modestly priced real Cheddar cheese out there that I am able to find right now, and it compares very favourably in quality to Balderson, which used to be superb but is now only good. (Balderson Cheese used to be an independent dairy but it was bought by Parmalat a number of years back, and they have kept it as their high-end brand of Cheddar. In my opinion, Pine River is now the better cheese, and still less expensive.)


There is an entire room which holds the cleaning fluids, with pipes that take them throughout the factory.


This is a row of cheese presses: the drained curds are put into hoops (the rectangles seen in the picture below) which are then placed beneath these H-shaped presses for 8 to 10 hours to have yet more whey squeezed out of them.


Those grey rectangles are the hoops where the cheese curds are pressed into blocks.


These pipes that run around the factory floor bring the cleaning fluids to all the tanks and vats. Above them, you can see the windows of the museum and viewing floor.


A worker cleans out one of the cheese making vats. Im sorry I ended up visiting on a cleaning day as seems to be my usual procedure! However, it turns out that Pine River has made and excellent video about their cheese-making process, that can be seen on YouTube. Check it out! its impressive.


Another worker packs cheese in boxes. There are 30 full-time and about 8 part-time workers at the Pine River Cheese factory. The milk for the factory comes from 16 farmer members.

Cheddar is their specialty, but they make a good range of about a dozen other cheeses as well, including chocolate cheese! Yes, really. Mr. Ferdzy talked me into buying some and it was a big hit at our Christmas dinner. Its definitely dessert though, and not something you would put on your pizza. 


There is a climate-controlled warehouse attached to the factory, although they also have off-site aging facilities. Because of that you can still get old Cheddar and other aged cheese from Pine River, which survived since they were elsewhere at the time of the fire. Unlike a lot of cheese made at the present time, Pine River ages their cheese naturally - their 5 year old cheese really is 5 years old. According to Vijay, many cheeses nowadays are artificially aged through the addition of enzymes.

The same multinational companies that have snapped up almost every other cheese factory around would also love to snap up Pine River. They have received multiple offers to sell. So far though, Pine River remains true to their history of co-operative cheese making, and  have no intentions of selling. Their dedication shows in some of the best cheese around and it is still available at very reasonable prices. You will have to look for it though! Or maybe pay them a visit and stock up in their shop.

This recipe is easy peasy Applewood Cheesey!  The Hot n Smoky Cheese and Tomato Wraps are easy to put together and full of flavour.  You could vary the recipe in all sorts of ways as long as it includes cheese.

This is my third recipe for the Applewood Spreadable Blogger Competition, check out the Kale, Pumpkin and Smoked Cheese Tart and Smoky Celeriac and Apple Remoulade.


Hot n Smoky Cheese and Tomato Wraps
6 large tortillas or wraps
350g/12oz Applewood Smoked or mild cheddar, grated
100g/6oz Applewood Spreadable 
200g chorizo
15g fresh coriander, chopped
2 spring onions
3 large vine ripened tomatoes
1 red chilli

First make the salsa
1. Deseed and chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl.  Finely chop the spring onions, deseed and finely chop the chilli, add to the tomatoes and set aside.


2. Skin and chop the chorizo, fry it gently in a non-stick pan without oil until the sausage pieces start to char at the edges and the oil starts to run.
3. Lay out the tortillas and spread with the Applewood Spreadable, divide the chorizo between the 6 tortillas, laying it in a line down the middle.
4. Top the chorizo with the salsa, grateed Applewood Smoked Cheese (keeping some aside to top the finished dish) and chopped coriander.

5. Roll up the Tortillas, cut in half and layer them up in an ovenproof dish.  Top with the remaining grated cheese.



6. Bake at 200C/400F for 15 minutes until heated through and the cheese has melted.  Serve hot with salad.


I was provided with samples of Applewood Spreadable, Applewood Smoked Cheese and a hamper of other ingredients.  I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

A terrific dessert your family is bound to adore...

Serves: (12)
Prep: 15 min. |
Bake: 30 mins.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)
1-1/2 cup grated carrots (2 medium)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons. baking soda
1 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground gloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup sugar
1 cup raisin (slightly chopped)
1-1/2 cup orange juice
½ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
1/4 cup grated coconut, grated, slightly chopped
1 (8 oz. can) crushed pineapple, drained
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons molasses

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9"x13"x2" baking pan with oil. Microwave butter microwave-proof glass bowl 40 seconds, then toss with grated carrots in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl sift (through a sieve by tapping the edge) the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt; mixing to combine.

With hand mixer, beat in a small bowl the sugar and eggs until light in color; add raisins, and orange juice mixing well.  Add to the large bowl of dry ingredients; combine (with a spoon), and then add the nuts, crushed pineapple, and vanilla; folding to gently to combine (do not over mix).

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, and frost with “Cream Cheese Buttercream” recipe below, and then cut into 12 bars - enjoy!

Cream Cheese Buttercream
(Yields 2 Cups) |
Prep: 5 Mins.

1 (8 oz.) pkg. of cream cheese (at room temperature)
¼ cup butter (at room temperature)
2 cups of confectioners’ sugar (sift through a sieve to prevent lumpy buttercream)
1 tablespoons milk (add more if you like a thinner consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer cream together the cream cheese and butter, and mix in vanilla. Gradually stir in (with a spoon) the milk, and then the confectioner’ sugar, mixing until smooth.

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Tip:  I like to cut my bars in more of a rectangular shape, and for special occasions use a piping bag to decorate with the buttercream, including adding a piped decorated carrot on top.