Photo from AsiaOne World |
Camel’s milk is relatively low in fat, so the yield is low as well. But, cheese can be made with it and, where there’s a will, there’s a whey.
Due primarily to new technology, camel’s milk can be coagulated using vegetable rennet and camel rennet. (Veal rennet is not effective.)
In the US, it’s very costly to raise camels for milk production because female camels have to live 4 years before they can be bred. Then, they will only produce milk after giving birth to a calf and the suckling process has begun. The gestation period is 13 months.
There are a few camel dairies in the US, but, as far as we know, none of them are selling cheese. (However, Desert Farms sells raw camel’s milk kefir and the Oasis Camel Dairy sells powdered camel’s milk).
A company in Dubai (Camelicious) first began selling camel’s milk cheese in January, 2013. They produce 3 varieties, meant for salads, sandwiches and cooking.
Photo of Camelicious cheeses from The National |
We recently received a press release (below) about Camelicious partnering with a British cheese company (Godminster) to create an entry in the next Global Cheese Awards (judging September 12, 2014). If you lucky enough to be near the Cheese Pavillion in Somerset, England the following day, you can sample the cheeses, including the one(s) made from camel’s milk.
Press Release
The Global Cheese Awards have made the first British produced Camel milk cheese for this year’s awards. The awards have joined forces with Dubai based company Camelicious who are supplying the milk.
Cheese with camel milk is more difficult to make than cheese from the milk of other dairy animals. This is why we have assigned a team of cheese and dairy professionals to oversee the project. The cheese will be made at Godminster in Somerset and will be overseen by Global Cheese Awards Chairman Nigel Pooley and committee members Hector Scott and Jessica Kimber-Holloway of Godminster.
For further information or to arrange an interview please contact Debbie Stewart on 01943 872 505
or Sarah Norris on 01749 813 733. Watch the cheese making process.
The video was produced by D McCabe Media who will also be filming at the show.
For further information contact 07712 157597 or email.