Straight To The Source visits Sydney-based, artisan cheese producer, Vannella Cheese, and chats to creative director, Anthony Silvio, to find out what’s unique about their curds and whey.

 It’s rare for a producer to be both artisan and high volume however, Sydney’s Vannella Cheese manages to succeed at being both. I was lucky enough to visit their Marrickville factory recently and was given a window into the production of their unique range of no-waste buffalo milk and cow’s milk cheese. Handmade burrata, stracciatella, mozzarella, feta, fior di latte, scamorza and yoghurt, they were all on the menu.

Vannella Cheese finds its origins in Conversano, Puglia, in south-eastern Italy. It was there as a teenager that founder and head cheesemaker, Vito Minoia, began to learn his craft. 

“At 16 years old, Vito learnt how to hand stretch curds the traditional way,” says Vannella Cheese creative director, Anthony Silvio. “Back then everything was done by hand: the burrata, fior di latte, treccine, nodini, scamorza. Over the following years, Vito worked in some of Italy's best cheese factories before moving to Australia, bringing a little bit of Conversano with him.”

This move saw Minoia launch Vannella Cheese in Cairns in 1999 with the idea of being close to the dairy herds. He eventually realised the benefits of bringing “the fresh cheese closer to the tables where it was being served” and shifted his family and business to Sydney’s Inner West.

Silvio says, “Next year, Vito will be celebrating 50 years of being a cheesemaker. It's all he has ever known. He wouldn't have it any other way. He just loves it.”

Touring the Vannella Cheese factory, I saw much of their day-to-day operation, including the receiving process of the dairy, pasteurisation, culturing and the stretching of fresh curds into mozzarella and ricotta. However, it all starts with the right dairy. And for Minoia it has to be local and single-origin. Accordingly, Vannella Cheese sources its buffalo milk from Shaw River, Victoria, and its cow's milk from Leppington, NSW. What amazed me was also seeing how this informed the business’ no-waste philosophy.

“This is something really important to us,” says Silvio. “We are fortunate to work with the most incredible local dairy and have made it our aim to get the most out of every drop of luscious milk and cream that we can.”

Byproducts are a natural part of any cheese production. When Vannella Cheese splits cultured milk into curds and whey, it is the curd that is stretched into the various mozzarella cheeses. 

“The whey byproduct is never wasted though, we use it to make ricotta,” says Silvio. “You see, ‘ricotta’ in Italian literally translates to ‘re-cooked’, referring to the way cheesemakers can use the whey byproduct to produce fluffy, light cheese with the addition of a little milk for creaminess, a little salt for flavour, and something acidic to further split this liquid into ricotta.”

Furthering this, Vannella Cheese also churns its whey cream byproduct into their new, soon-to-be-launched whey butter.

Much of Vannella Cheese’s range is ideal for foodservice.

Silvio says, "The freshest of our mozzarella range such as the buffalo mozzarella is best served fresh with antipasto or on top of pizzas after it's been baked. To fully appreciate its texture and juiciness we always recommend cutting this product just before serving, never ripping it in the hands as you lose the milky bite otherwise.

“The buffalo yoghurt is extremely versatile too. It can be served simply with muesli or can be churned into a delicious sorbet to cut through the richness of an accompanying chocolate dessert. 

“Our scamorza range is perfect for baking with. The melt is incredible. These products are live-cultured, so they have a more complex flavour profile. We recommend using the scamorza affumicata, our cold smoked cow's milk mozzarella, for a gorgeous pizza bianca with sliced potatoes and fresh rosemary.”

Silvio says, “Moving forward we just want to continue creating the same beautiful products in the same way Vito did many years ago in Puglia. It's going to be about steadily expanding our range and growing our brand, but not at the expense of the high quality of our products. And we’re already working on some very interesting things that we can't wait to release. Stay tuned.”

For further information, please visit straighttothesource.com.au/producer/vannella-cheese

Garlicious Grown lives, loves and celebrates black garlic. So much so that the Braidwood-based producer has shared their recipe for sesame-roasted vegetables with Straight To The Source to showcase this luscious and versatile condiment. 

4 baby turnips, peeled with tops trimmed, halved

4 baby radishes, peeled with tops trimmed, halved

4 baby beetroot, peeled with tops trimmed, halved

5 Garlicious Grown black garlic cloves, unpeeled

2 tsp Garlicious Grown smoked garlic powder

In a large bowl add the vegetables and toss well with the sesame oil, extra virgin olive oil, thyme sprigs, toasted fennel seeds, salt and pepper.

Transfer to the oven and roast until golden.

On a serving platter, arrange the roasted vegetables roughly stacked in a line and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Accompany with a small serving bowl with the toasted fennel seeds, Garlicious Grown smoked garlic powder and Murray River salt flakes well combined, as well as a large dollop of Garlicious Grown black garlic aioli.

For further information, please visit garliciousgrown.com.au. 

Garlicious Grown lives, loves and celebrates black garlic. So much so that the Braidwood-based producer has shared their recipe for sesame-roasted vegetables with Straight To The Source to showcase this luscious and versatile condiment.

Recipe: Garlicious Grown’s sesame-roasted vegetables with black garlic aioli

Outback Lamb follows a simple philosophy. “We are striving to hit that sweet spot where the planet, profits and community are all winners,” says lamb producer and farmer, Fiona Aveyard.

Founded and run together with husband Bill in Tullamore, New South Wales, Outback Lamb grew out of the couple’s mixed farming operation, which includes merinos for wool production and prime lamb production, and focuses on producing and selling single-origin, gourmet lamb sausage rolls and roast lamb pies. Their lamb was recently recognised in the 2021 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards State Winners.

Aveyard says, “I have always been a sausage roll fan, which is why we have worked so hard to develop a quality product.”

As a fifth-generation farmer, Aveyard sees Outback Lamb as having an important responsibility to value and respect the environment and share that message. And as such, she has intentionally steered the enterprise away from commodity production and towards slowly building and developing the Outback Lamb brand and profile.

“At Outback Lamb we see modern farming as the front line of action for future food security and climate change,” she says. “We believe in food provenance, regenerative farming and aim to be carbon neutral by 2030. Grass-fed production, regenerative pastures, value-adding and whole animal consumption underpin our farming philosophy.”

Working to create a profitable but environmentally sustainable business has not been without its challenges. Indeed, Outback Lamb has faced drought and flood in recent times. However, Aveyard is not deterred.

“It’s an exciting industry to be involved in,” she says. “Meat producers have industry-driven goals to be carbon neutral by 2030. We are working hard to identify not just our emissions but also what carbon storage is available. We are challenging everything from stock breeding and management through to pasture establishment in order to better understand how soil biology can be best utilised.”

As a founding member of Straight To The Source’s directory, Outback Lamb recently worked with Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon to advance the business. In particular, Aveyard sought out their expertise for one main reason.

“What we are doing with Outback Lamb is a fundamental shift from our skills and experience as farmers,” she reveals. “It is very hard to move from doing something you are successful at to doing something entirely new ... I have a vision as to where we will end up, but as to the means by which we get there? Well, that is why I need consultants like Straight To The Source who understand the industry, the processes and the people.”

As a result, a plan has been developed and a strategy put into place. This will help Outback Lamb launch its sausage rolls and pies in spring 2021 into the retail and foodservice markets.  

For further information, please visit outbacklamb.com.au.

Outback Lamb: Single-origin sausage rolls and pies launching in spring

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Yarra Valley Berkshires

This wonderful producer has just joined our growing community. More info to come soon. 

Yarra Valley Berkshires

This wonderful producer has just joined our growing community. More info to come soon.

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