The degree of control over the cleanliness of the environment, humidity and temperature makes cheese making significantly more difficult to manage than say, cultivating yogurt at home. The necessary precision makes modern cheese making a rather clinical, rather than a sexy enterprise. At Chococheese, it takes place in a white-tiled, fully washed-down room with lots of stainless steel trays and plastic molds; all this is visible to diners who are separated from the kitchen only by windows and so are reminded that the cheese is made on the premises.
Milk is the key to making cheese and Frauchiger said it was difficult to find suppliers able to provide the quality required. "The milk cannot have antibiotics in it," Frauchiger emphasized, "or it is no use for cheese making."
Penicillin injections for sick cows are more than enough to ruin a batch, and the milk is rigorously tested for purity before it is put into the 500-liter churn, where it is mixed with rennet, an extract from a calf's fourth stomach that causes the milk to coagulate.
What emerges after about an hour is something like soft tofu, which is then chopped up and pumped into molds for pressing. Timing is the key for producing different qualities of cheese, and Frauchiger's creations range from super-soft camembert styles to semi-hards like rachlette.
Cheeses are soaked in salt water to facilitate the formation of a rind and some are exposed to fungus.
Depending on the cheese, the process takes between 15 days and four months, Frauchiger said. The results are a worthy addition to Taipei's claims of being a sophisticated culinary center.
Frauchiger has also developed a cheese-oriented menu for Chococheese, so if you want to see what can be done with cheese besides putting it on a slice of bread, the restaurant is certainly worth checking out.
Chococheese is located at 34-1 Chihshan Rd, Sec 2, Shihlin, Taipei (台北市至善路二段34-1號). Call the place at (02) 2882 6399 and find further product information at www.chococheese.com.tw.
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