Does Thailand Have The Ability To Make Good Cheese?

[RabC]

The USA has some wonderful cheeses and wine too.

No argument but it has far more mediocre and even appalling wines and cheeses. For the size of the nation the numbers of good cheese products isn't very high. I believe the average American would prefer cheese whizz or a processed slice.

I believe your point is that Americans don't like good cheese or wine. Or actually you could substitute almost anything that is good wherever you come from.

What I find appalling is that you feel the need to slag America in a thread titled Does Thailand have the ability to make good cheese.

Am I the only one who gets tired of this constant repetition of negativity about other countries?

Give it a rest.

Is it possible to make good cheese in a hot climate? Of course it is. Will Asians ever be a great cheese market? Considering the lactose intolerance; probably not.

Read back through my posts, I commented on locally made cheeses quite some time ago. I was not the one who drifted off into the quality of Cheeses in Mexico or USA. Be careful when you hijack a thread you may get responses you don't like.

Also I agreed that USA does make good cheeses but not in any great proportion compared with other countries, even New World ones. And finally yes I do believe that a very high percentage of Americans are brought up on mass produced rubbish, note I did not say all.

Edited November 26, 2012 by RabC

[smokie36]

@Rab

Many Brits have never experienced great cheese. Yet decent stuff is available in almost any supermarket in the UK. Row after row of cheese dunkers and Dairylea slices or pre grated plastic is starting to grow wider on the shelves.

Truly great cheese is harder to find....from deli shops or specialist cheese shops which are not in every town.

Pity that really given the quality available in Europe. I'd love to see them in Bangkok at a decent price....or indeed any decent cheese other than cheddar at a fair price.

[jbrain]

@Rab

Many Brits have never experienced great cheese. Yet decent stuff is available in almost any supermarket in the UK. Row after row of cheese dunkers and Dairylea slices or pre grated plastic is starting to grow wider on the shelves.

Truly great cheese is harder to find....from deli shops or specialist cheese shops which are not in every town.

Pity that really given the quality available in Europe. I'd love to see them in Bangkok at a decent price....or indeed any decent cheese other than cheddar at a fair price.

Big C Extra has some good cheeses at affordable prices under the Casino logo.

[RabC]

@Rab

Many Brits have never experienced great cheese. Yet decent stuff is available in almost any supermarket in the UK. Row after row of cheese dunkers and Dairylea slices or pre grated plastic is starting to grow wider on the shelves.

Truly great cheese is harder to find....from deli shops or specialist cheese shops which are not in every town.

Pity that really given the quality available in Europe. I'd love to see them in Bangkok at a decent price....or indeed any decent cheese other than cheddar at a fair price.

Smokie I totally agree with what you have to say, but I never offered up the UK as a bastion of good cheese unlike our ranting friend here did with the USA.

Down here in Pattaya the cheese situation has got better over the years and we are able to buy quite a few reasonable quality imported cheeses from Europe, Aus and NZ?

[smokie36]

@Rab

Many Brits have never experienced great cheese. Yet decent stuff is available in almost any supermarket in the UK. Row after row of cheese dunkers and Dairylea slices or pre grated plastic is starting to grow wider on the shelves.

Truly great cheese is harder to find....from deli shops or specialist cheese shops which are not in every town.

Pity that really given the quality available in Europe. I'd love to see them in Bangkok at a decent price....or indeed any decent cheese other than cheddar at a fair price.

Smokie I totally agree with what you have to say, but I never offered up the UK as a bastion of good cheese unlike our ranting friend here did with the USA.

Down here in Pattaya the cheese situation has got better over the years and we are able to buy quite a few reasonable quality imported cheeses from Europe, Aus and NZ?

That's good to hear. Also thanks to jbrain...I will try that brand and see how it goes.

Edit: I did try a few cheeses, well packaged etc Brie and Camembert on Samui and bought from Tops I think. Tasted like cardboard...if there was a difference in the two being made then you wouldn't have noticed....I haven't bought any since!

Edited November 26, 2012 by smokie36

[ricklev]

Caroline Feta is pretty good! Everything else they make is so so to not so good.

[chiangmaikelly]

The USA has some wonderful cheeses and wine too.

No argument but it has far more mediocre and even appalling wines and cheeses. For the size of the nation the numbers of good cheese products isn't very high. I believe the average American would prefer cheese whizz or a processed slice.

I believe your point is that Americans don't like good cheese or wine. Or actually you could substitute almost anything that is good wherever you come from.

What I find appalling is that you feel the need to slag America in a thread titled Does Thailand have the ability to make good cheese.

Am I the only one who gets tired of this constant repetition of negativity about other countries?

Give it a rest.

Is it possible to make good cheese in a hot climate? Of course it is. Will Asians ever be a great cheese market? Considering the lactose intolerance; probably not.

Read back through my posts, I commented on locally made cheeses quite some time ago. I was not the one who drifted off into the quality of Cheeses in Mexico or USA. Be careful when you hijack a thread you may get responses you don't like.

Also I agreed that USA does make good cheeses but not in any great proportion compared with other countries, even New World ones. And finally yes I do believe that a very high percentage of Americans are brought up on mass produced rubbish, note I did not say all.

The history of a flame/rant/logical post. You decide.

OP topic. Does Thailand have the ability to make a good cheese?

Jamora wrote, “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.”

My note, not true. Cheese is made in hot countries such as Mexico and Mexico is one of the worlds largest producers of quality cheeses. Goes directly to the issue of does Thailand have the ability to make cheese.

So I posted, “Cheese is made in Mexico and has been for centuries.” and “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.”

Then comes the first of the anti Mexico flaming posts, by Rab, “And how many world renowned or award winning cheeses does Mexico produce? The title of this thread says Good Cheese.”

Note, You will notice Rab changed good cheese in the OP to award winning cheeses.

Second Mexican cheese bashing post by 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,”

Note, You will notice WilliaminBKK changed good cheese to proper (one assumes English) cheese.

WilliamBKK second Mexican bashing post, “I didn't realise there were so many different kinds of cheese in Mexico, they can have 1000 and it wouldn't matter for my taste. If Thailand can copy one and master it well then good - until then I'll stick to my imported proper cheese.”

Note again that good cheese has been changed to proper assume (English Cheddar) as he said available in NZ and Ireland.

Next Mexican bashing cheese post from notmyself, “Word on the street is that Mexican cheese was originally developed as a buoyancy aid to cross the Rio Grande but I don't know if it is true.”

First anti US cheese bashing post and indeed the first mention of US cheese in this thread by, fire and ice, “A bit of a tall order considering the entire USA can't make decent (regular everyday) cheese! I mean its some orange plastic substance.

As a side issue its very difficult to even buy butter in the USA, let alone decent cheese for a simple sandwich. (50% fat butter, unsalted butter, I cannot believe its not butter, but NOT FRIGGING ACTUAL BUTTER!!).”

I responded to the US cheese bashing post with the following post, “Of the 50 best a number are made in the USA. Read it and weep. http://www.thefiftyb.../best_cheese/1/”

So, too summarize. Did I bring up American Cheese? Nope.

Did I bring up Mexican cheese? Yes to prove good cheese can be made in a hot climate.

Did I knock cheese from any other country? Nope.

Many different countries have good cheeses there is no such thing as a proper cheese. There are hundreds of varieties of different and delicious cheese.

[kurnell]

I found a place that sells imported Aussie cheese at half the price of Villa, Foodland and co.

[notmyself]

Yet decent stuff is available in almost any supermarket in the UK.

Growing smaller at quite a rate. When I was back in the UK a few months back my sister asked me to make something I had made the previous year, I couldn't find the cheese this time.

[Edit to keep on topic]

Perhaps at some stage I will be able to find the same cheese here in Thailand (locally produced) and take it back with me.

Edited November 26, 2012 by notmyself

[tombkk]

The topic is "Does Thailand have the ability to make good cheese?". Let's not discuss other country's cheeses too much, that would be off-topic. Even though, "good" needs to be defined, so some comparison is in order. Please use your judgement.

[Ulysses G.]

Yes, Thailand has the ability to make good cheese. As Chiangmaikelly has pointed out, other countries with a similar climate do it. However, other than a few fresh cheeses, they do not seem to be doing it for some reason.

[fire and ice]

A bit of a tall order considering the entire USA can't make decent (regular everyday) cheese! I mean its some orange plastic substance.

As a side issue its very difficult to even buy butter in the USA, let alone decent cheese for a simple sandwich. (50% fat butter, unsalted butter, I cannot believe its not butter, but NOT FRIGGING ACTUAL BUTTER!!).

If Canada makes decent cheese then its not widely for sale in the USA.

Actually the above is from my experience a long time ago when I spent 4 months travelling all over the USA back in 1995....hopefully things have changed but I suspect the cheese is still some plastic substance that is not even the correct colour....

Of the 50 best a number are made in the USA. Read it and weep. http://www.thefiftyb.../best_cheese/1/

I stand by my post: (1) the 50 best website cited is clearly an American website and written by Americans who are largely naive about the rest of the planet. (2) I was referring to everyday cheeses that most people buy (& say) nibble on or put on a sandwich, not top shelf cheeses you have to search for.

Edited November 30, 2012 by fire and ice

[chiangmaikelly]

A bit of a tall order considering the entire USA can't make decent (regular everyday) cheese! I mean its some orange plastic substance.

As a side issue its very difficult to even buy butter in the USA, let alone decent cheese for a simple sandwich. (50% fat butter, unsalted butter, I cannot believe its not butter, but NOT FRIGGING ACTUAL BUTTER!!).

If Canada makes decent cheese then its not widely for sale in the USA.

Actually the above is from my experience a long time ago when I spent 4 months travelling all over the USA back in 1995....hopefully things have changed but I suspect the cheese is still some plastic substance that is not even the correct colour....

Of the 50 best a number are made in the USA. Read it and weep. http://www.thefiftyb.../best_cheese/1/

I stand by my post: (1) the 50 best website cited is clearly an American website and written by Americans who are largely naive about the rest of the planet. (2) I was referring to everyday cheeses that most people buy (& say) nibble on or put on a sandwich, not top shelf cheeses you have to search for.

What question are you answering?

[Ulysses G.]

It seems that "fire and ice" has either never been to America or knows nothing about good cheese.

Edited November 30, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[naboo]

Member 'mbox', who worked in the food industry until he retired to Thailand, makes cheeses for personal consumption. If anyone fancies a go, I believe he'd be a good one to look to for support. He is German, and his cheeses are therefore generally European soft cheeses.

Rather randomly, you can research his attempts on his Tiger Motorbikes forum, which I don't think I can link to as I believe he is no longer a sponsor. However, if you view his member profile and follow the link to his listed website, then click on 'forum', then to the bottom where he has a food section, you'll find it.

Alternatively, click one of these links and hope I haven't broken any forum rules.

Port Salut

Four different cheeses

Bleu de Queyras

Other cheese recipes

Also see the attached recipes.

Cheddar_Stirred_Curd.pdf

Cream_Cheese.pdf

Feta.pdf

Camembert.pdf

Edited December 6, 2012 by naboo

[Windhorse]

I am a cheese maker from Switzerland and have started here in Chiangmai to play around a bit and make cheese..the results are good.

Therefor it is absolutely possible to make good cheese in Thailand.

Some cheese can not be the same as back home, as we have rich pastures especially up in the mountains.

Here the pasture ls rather poor in herbs and flowers.But that is the same in other parts of the world where the cows are grazed in pastures consisting of mainly ray grasses.I used to make cheese in Tasmania and it was the same ,the cheese was Ok but nothing like one from the alps where you can find up too 30 different herbs in square meter.

One more thing,pasteurising the milk das not help

[RupertIII]

A thread on good cheese and nary a mention of Roquefort, for shame, for shame.

This is another great cheese, but don't expect any Thai to eat this one. My gf enjoys cheese, yet anything blue and sharp she just loathes.

Anyone know a Thai who would enjoy Roquefort?

My Thai wife's favourite cheese, she loves it! Casino brand at Big C around 180 Baht for 150 gms.,

[Finnegan]

If so many asians are lactose-intolerant, why do they buy all these huge amounts of milk and milk-based drinks? I see tons of bottles everywhere: 7-11, FM, Tesco.

[fire and ice]

It seems that "fire and ice" has either never been to America or knows nothing about good cheese.

Spent about a year of my life (added up) in the USA and been to 26 states. Lots of things to love about the USA, but your cheese sucks. Your bread does too - its like tissue paper. The only decent bread I could find was at Subway.

[notmyself]

It seems that "fire and ice" has either never been to America or knows nothing about good cheese.

Spent about a year of my life (added up) in the USA and been to 26 states. Lots of things to love about the USA, but your cheese sucks. Your bread does too - its like tissue paper. The only decent bread I could find was at Subway.

I don't agree with your opinion on the bread but I certainly do on cheese. Companies such as Kraft spend huge amounts of money trying to make processed cheese which is much cheaper and faster to produce taste like, and have the consistency of, non processed cheese. However, the US seems to have no problem making non processed cheese taste like, and have the consistency of, processed cheese.

[NewlyMintedThai]

If you are still saying such nonsense you probably haven't explored beyond the refrigerator section of your neighborhood Safeway. There are very serious, small-batch cheese makers all over the US these days. You will not find their products at the Piggly Wiggly, but at specialty shops and farmers markets.

Same with bread. You need to find an artisanal bakery, of which every city has at at least a handful.

If you're eating Kraft and Wonder Bread, you're not trying hard enough.

[chiangmaikelly]

It seems that "fire and ice" has either never been to America or knows nothing about good cheese.

Spent about a year of my life (added up) in the USA and been to 26 states. Lots of things to love about the USA, but your cheese sucks. Your bread does too - its like tissue paper. The only decent bread I could find was at Subway.

http://www.nytimes.c...win-prizes.html

Even Kraft has excellent cheese!

Edited December 24, 2012 by chiangmaikelly

[Ulysses G.]

:

Favorite American cheeses of 2012

http://www.sfgate.com/food/cheesecourse/article/Domestic-favorite-cheeses-of-2012-4152969.php

[balo]

Try Villa Market , Sukhumvit .

I just found Monterey Jack , imported Californian cheese , for only 95 baht( 680 gr), very cheap and it taste good .

[fooder]

I also think Thailand has the potential and the right milk to produce high quality cheese,but as mentioned right now you can only find local fresh cheese and some others who try to do other types.

I found only one brand to have excellent quality but again they make only fresh cheese and a divine Yogurt, i asked them about aged cheese and yellow cheese types and they said that they'll be happy to make it in the future but things take time in Thailand

anyway you should try them first and they are also a great source of information about the local dairy industry and general questions about the milk and cheese in Thailand,

HomaeMade-Cheese Co.

www.homemade-cheese.com

can we call it Thai Cheese????

[thaicbr]

here's cheese made in Thailand

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heaven-On-Cheese/507217885990688?ref=stream&hc_location=stream