Does Thailand Have The Ability To Make Good Cheese?

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Yes teaching Thais what "cream" is is quite interesting, almost all the words I tried using end up being direct loan words in the Thai language. I was going on about distinction between the different levels of skim, buttermilk etc and I suddenly realized the whole topic was of as much interest to the students as a Thai teacher prattling on about the twenty-seven varieties of Phoo Phalaa to farang.

Other than one bright-eyed fellow that's got his eyes set on being a gourmet chef, well on his way judging by the strawberry cheesecake he brought in the next week.

Edited November 18, 2012 by BigJohnnyBKK

[notmyself]

Bega is good stuff. It's one of my favourites. I've got some in the fridge (here in Bangkok).

Rolling green hills straight out of the pages of a childs story book and great cheese. Nothing else I can remember though.

[rene123]

You weren't expecting it to cost the same as at home, surely?

No, but I didn't expect it to cost 3 times as much. But, I just add it up to all the many differences between Canada and Thailand. I can't even find smoked salmon in Chiang Mai that I get in Canada as easily as phoning a friend who catches it and smokes it himself. I just thought the differences were extreme. It all balances out when I can buy a Kow Padt Gai (stir fried rice and chicken) for about a dollar in Thailand and the same meal in Canada would cost me $12.95

[payak]

the cheese is as bad as the milk.

[notmyself]

I can't even find smoked salmon in Chiang Mai that I get in Canada as easily as phoning a friend who catches it and smokes it himself.

Visit the TVF western food section. There are some serious food lovers who can advise you on where to get what you want or letting you know how to make it yourself.

[rene123]

I can't even find smoked salmon in Chiang Mai that I get in Canada as easily as phoning a friend who catches it and smokes it himself.

Visit the TVF western food section. There are some serious food lovers who can advise you on where to get what you want or letting you know how to make it yourself.

Thank you for that. I will look into it. I am still trying to find my way around here. Shortcuts and good advice are happily accepted.

[notmyself]

I can't even find smoked salmon in Chiang Mai that I get in Canada as easily as phoning a friend who catches it and smokes it himself.

Visit the TVF western food section. There are some serious food lovers who can advise you on where to get what you want or letting you know how to make it yourself.

Thank you for that. I will look into it. I am still trying to find my way around here. Shortcuts and good advice are happily accepted.

A guy on there built his own smoker (I think he's in CM), posted pictures etc. I've been thinking of buying or building one myself for quite some time as I have found that Thai's (and expats) love smoked pork even more so done in a Cajun style. Thinking about what UG said above about soft cheeses being good (local made) but semi-hard being poor made me think. It's the flavour which is poor rather than the texture, but when I say flavour I mean there really isn't any flavour. Cheese is a funny thing because sometimes the flavour is only there when eaten cold while other times it is only there when hot, I find it hard to believe that Thai produced semi-hard cheese does not have any flavour at all. What would it be like when smoked? I also wonder about Naam's very informative post regarding high lactose intolerance in South Asians, is the lactose all but removed from the 'milk' before production of local cheese? Is this why aged cheese does not in fact 'age', it just gets older?

[jbrain]

Of course they can make cheese or yoghourt or any milk product for that matter, however it will be at a limited amount since they have a very limited availability of cows.

[jbrain]

I thought that Tescos nationwide carried the Mainland cheeses imported from Oz. I prefer Mainland Vintage (185 Bt, 200 Grms), but if they don't have that the Tasty will do.

Great minds cheeseheads think alike, good stuff that.

200 grms at 185 baht is about 3 times what I pay in Canada. I can get an 800 to 900 grm block of Canadian chedder for about 8 dollars. By my calculations, 800 grams of cheese in Thailand would cost 740 baht, or about $24.

You weren't expecting it to cost the same as at home, surely?

I'm not sure about that.

At Big C extra you can buy the Camembert from Casino, produced and imported from France, at 159 Bht for 250 grams or you can buy the same product of the President brand for close to 500 Bht. Of course at my home country the President would be priced at the same price as the Casino brand is priced in Thailand.

But, I don't taste over 300% diffrence between both products.

[chiangmaikelly]

Of course they can make cheese or yoghourt or any milk product for that matter, however it will be at a limited amount since they have a very limited availability of cows.

Department of Livestock Development (DLD) statistics show 2001 milk production at 540,000 tons from 17,513 farms. Total cow population is about 307,927 head. How many do you think they need for a bit of cheese?

[jamora]

Of course they can make good cheese in Thailand, but they face the same problem as they do with sausages, wine and many other western food products. Temperature control! So their products will most likely cost much more to produce then when produced in colder countries. and when you have a government trying to protect the local industries by taxing imports... Well... Then everything just becomes expensive

[BigJohnnyBKK]

But the eggs are cheaper 8-)

[chiangmaikelly]

Of course they can make good cheese in Thailand, but they face the same problem as they do with sausages, wine and many other western food products. Temperature control! So their products will most likely cost much more to produce then when produced in colder countries. and when you have a government trying to protect the local industries by taxing imports... Well... Then everything just becomes expensive

In 1923, with an investment of $7 for an electric fan, buckets of brine, and cakes of ice, Clarence Birdseye invented and later perfected a system of packing fresh food into waxed cardboard boxes and flash-freezing under high pressure. I think you will find now that cheese is made in air conditioned buildings. The cost in Thailand would be little more than the cost anywhere. Thailand could make cheese but Thai people don't eat diary products because they make one smell bad and Thai people don't like to smell bad.

[rene123]

Of course they can make good cheese in Thailand, but they face the same problem as they do with sausages, wine and many other western food products. Temperature control! So their products will most likely cost much more to produce then when produced in colder countries. and when you have a government trying to protect the local industries by taxing imports... Well... Then everything just becomes expensive

I didn't think about the temperature problem. That might explain it. The countries famous for their cheese are usually cooler climates. Maybe it's like strawberries. It's impossible to find good tasting strawberries in Thailand. They look nice but taste like cardboard, the same as California strawberries do.

[jbrain]

Of course they can make cheese or yoghourt or any milk product for that matter, however it will be at a limited amount since they have a very limited availability of cows.

Department of Livestock Development (DLD) statistics show 2001 milk production at 540,000 tons from 17,513 farms. Total cow population is about 307,927 head. How many do you think they need for a bit of cheese?

How about 3.678.000 ?That's the cow population of France for example, and they make cheese.

http://www.dairyco.org.uk/market-information/farming-data/cow-numbers/eu-cow-numbers/

[chiangmaikelly]

Of course they can make good cheese in Thailand, but they face the same problem as they do with sausages, wine and many other western food products. Temperature control! So their products will most likely cost much more to produce then when produced in colder countries. and when you have a government trying to protect the local industries by taxing imports... Well... Then everything just becomes expensive

I didn't think about the temperature problem. That might explain it. The countries famous for their cheese are usually cooler climates. Maybe it's like strawberries. It's impossible to find good tasting strawberries in Thailand. They look nice but taste like cardboard, the same as California strawberries do.

Cheese is made in Mexico and has been for centuries. Cheese is not like strawberries. Strawberries grow cheese is made. The pipes are from a monster air conditioning unit.

[chiangmaikelly]

Of course they can make cheese or yoghourt or any milk product for that matter, however it will be at a limited amount since they have a very limited availability of cows.

Department of Livestock Development (DLD) statistics show 2001 milk production at 540,000 tons from 17,513 farms. Total cow population is about 307,927 head. How many do you think they need for a bit of cheese?

How about 3.678.000 ?That's the cow population of France for example, and they make cheese.

http://www.dairyco.o...eu-cow-numbers/

France has a lot of cows, yes. My question was how many cows do you think it takes to make a bit of cheese? You don't think three hundred thousand cows is enough?

[IMA_FARANG]

Other than tourists and expats, is there even a market for good cheese in Thailand?

------------------

Basically the answer to that question is no.

Cheese is a Farang food in Thailand.

Now, I'm not saying you couldn't make good cheese in Thailand....but without a real local market, why bother?

The incidence of "Lactose Intolerance" is genetic among the various racial groups.

Asians have the highest percentage of Lactose intolerance among all racial groups.

For many Milk and cheese makes them feel bloated and "gassy" due to the Lactose in it.

In addition the climate in Thailand makes it hard to make good cheese without spoiling it due to bacterial contamination and the hot climate.

So for those reasons cheese is not traditionally a Thai or S.E. Asian food....and there is little market locally for it.

[jbrain]

Of course they can make cheese or yoghourt or any milk product for that matter, however it will be at a limited amount since they have a very limited availability of cows.

Department of Livestock Development (DLD) statistics show 2001 milk production at 540,000 tons from 17,513 farms. Total cow population is about 307,927 head. How many do you think they need for a bit of cheese?

How about 3.678.000 ?That's the cow population of France for example, and they make cheese.

http://www.dairyco.o...eu-cow-numbers/

France has a lot of cows, yes. My question was how many cows do you think it takes to make a bit of cheese? You don't think three hundred thousand cows is enough?

Well the correct answer would be,You need 1 cow to make cheese.Topic resolved

[chiangmaikelly]

Other than tourists and expats, is there even a market for good cheese in Thailand?

------------------

Basically the answer to that question is no.

Cheese is a Farang food in Thailand.

Now, I'm not saying you couldn't make good cheese in Thailand....but without a real local market, why bother?

The incidence of "Lactose Intolerance" is genetic among the various racial groups.

Asians have the highest percentage of Lactose intolerance among all racial groups.

For many Milk and cheese makes them feel bloated and "gassy" due to the Lactose in it.

In addition the climate in Thailand makes it hard to make good cheese without spoiling it due to bacterial contamination and the hot climate.

So for those reasons cheese is not traditionally a Thai or S.E. Asian food....and there is little market locally for it.

It is not hard to make cheese in hot weather. Look at Mexico. You think Mexico is cool? Mexico is ranked 10th in the world for cheese production and eighth for consumption. Besides cheese is made and stored under factory produced air conditioning systems today. http://en.wikipedia....eeses_of_Mexico

Edited November 19, 2012 by chiangmaikelly

[MiG16]

moving this to the western food forum

[HeijoshinCool]

The Italians prize and use the Vietnamese water buffalo to make their mozzarella, the best in the world. And mozzarella is one of the easiest and fastest cheeses to produce.

Yet no one does.

[NewlyMintedThai]

The Italians prize and use the Vietnamese water buffalo to make their mozzarella, the best in the world. And mozzarella is one of the easiest and fastest cheeses to produce.

Yet no one does.

Actually, they do!

[tim armstrong]

A topic close to my heart. I love cheese but yes its expensive and not good here. A friend of mine from Oz is one of the senior advisers to the dairy industry and has been coming to Thailand for years. He says everything is possible but the climate just does not suit quality milk production. So therefore limited cheese varieties. It seems that the lighter 'semi cheeses' like cottage cheese, quark, and some soft white goats cheese are ok

[loong]

I don't miss a lot from my home country UK but cheese I must admit is one thing I do dream of.

In my province real cheese is nowhere to be found, a bit like farangs which is probably the reason.

Even my local Big C stocks only the plastic squares of the processed cr@p.

No hard or soft cheeses to be found any where!

Luckily I have a German friend who comes over twice a year & brings me supplies.

I thought that Tescos nationwide carried the Mainland cheeses imported from Oz. I prefer Mainland Vintage (185 Bt, 200 Grms), but if they don't have that the Tasty will do.

My apologies, as already pointed out Mainland Vintage cheese is from NZ, not Oz.

I bought some today and note that I was also wrong about the price and weight. It's 175 Baht for 250 Grms. (700 Bt/Kg)

So just about the only thing that I did get right is that it tastes great

[chiangmaikelly]

A topic close to my heart. I love cheese but yes its expensive and not good here. A friend of mine from Oz is one of the senior advisers to the dairy industry and has been coming to Thailand for years. He says everything is possible but the climate just does not suit quality milk production. So therefore limited cheese varieties. It seems that the lighter 'semi cheeses' like cottage cheese, quark, and some soft white goats cheese are ok

Excuse me no offense but they have been making fine cheese in that hot place Mexico for 400 years. Mexico has a climate at least as hot as Thailand if not more so.

[RabC]

A topic close to my heart. I love cheese but yes its expensive and not good here. A friend of mine from Oz is one of the senior advisers to the dairy industry and has been coming to Thailand for years. He says everything is possible but the climate just does not suit quality milk production. So therefore limited cheese varieties. It seems that the lighter 'semi cheeses' like cottage cheese, quark, and some soft white goats cheese are ok

Excuse me no offense but they have been making fine cheese in that hot place Mexico for 400 years. Mexico has a climate at least as hot as Thailand if not more so.

And how many world renowned or award winning cheeses does Mexico produce? The title of this thread says Good Cheese.

[chiangmaikelly]

A topic close to my heart. I love cheese but yes its expensive and not good here. A friend of mine from Oz is one of the senior advisers to the dairy industry and has been coming to Thailand for years. He says everything is possible but the climate just does not suit quality milk production. So therefore limited cheese varieties. It seems that the lighter 'semi cheeses' like cottage cheese, quark, and some soft white goats cheese are ok

Excuse me no offense but they have been making fine cheese in that hot place Mexico for 400 years. Mexico has a climate at least as hot as Thailand if not more so.

And how many world ren

owned or award winning cheeses does Mexico produce? The title of this thread says Good Cheese.

Cheese sales in Mexico were 218,000 tons. The Carlos Peraza family won a medal at the Cofradía de Quesos de Saint Maure in Touraine, France. In Baja California’s wine country, a notable cheese-making concern is La Cava de Marcelo. This business is named after owner Marcelo Castro Ramonetti, who is a fourth-generation cheese maker from a family who originally came to Mexico from Switzerland in 1911. The facility is located four meters below ground, measures 360 meters² and is made of crystal and stone. It has been visited by food tourists from around the world, and featured on Internet sites such as chow.com. The tasting room holds 40 people and the facility stores 10,000 pieces of cheese. The facility specializes in providing cheeses to gourmet restaurants and stores in Mexico. Some of their cheeses age as long as two years.

I hope that satisfies your hunger for nits today.

I believe the topic says good cheese and not world renowned or award winning cheese.

[WilliaminBKK]

Sadly I've tasted that Mexican cheese & I think the Filipinos copied the same horrible recipe, now in terms of proper cheese NZ makes some really decent cheese, was in SIN recently and they have a wide selection of Irish cheese that wasn't that bad either.

In terms of production here no idea but thought there was someone who was making or attempting to make proper cheese ? haven't seen it but would try it for sure.

My issue with cheese is storage, I don't mind paying the price and I have regular visitors bring a stash every now and then, But with the heat I'm forced to keep it in the fridge and try to remember to take it out on time and consume it before it melts or oils up.

[HeavyDrinker]

I just buy imported cheese.

If you can afford to live here then a few hundred baht for a slab of Cheddar/Gouda etc isn't going to slay you.

I'd kill someone for some Lancashire or Cheshire mind you....