loveFOOD meets... a cave-maturing, carbon-neutral cheesemaker

Award-winning cheesemaker Robin Betts tells us all about his carbon-neutral unpasteurised cheese.

Would you believe it is possible to make cheese when you’ve barely expended any energy to create it?

Yet that's just what Robin Betts of Winterdale Farm does with his Red Tractor-assured cheese, which has been winning awards non-stop since the very first batch was made in 2006.

The family farm

Robin’s grandfather owned a market garden farm just a couple of miles down the road from Winterdale Farm, and shortly after the Second World War started up the dairy farm that exists today.

The Betts, says Robin, have been farming in the area since the 16th century, so they’re a very long-standing fixture in the farming community. Involved in the family farm from a young age, Robin began working on the farm full-time after finishing his studies, sharing work with his father and brother.

His father is now retired, and he is in charge of cheesemaking, while his brother looks after the dairy farm. The dairy holds Red Tractor accreditation, showing it meets certain quality and welfare standards. “We have two separate roles now,” Robin laughs, “which is quite nice for brothers!”

A carbon-neutral cheese

Around 2000, Winterdale was finding it hard to continue. “Supermarkets were penalising dairy farmers with their milk prices,” says Robin, “and a lot of farmers were struggling at that point in time. It was clear that it wasn’t going to survive the way it was going.”

Diversifying into cheesemaking, using the milk from the dairy made sense, and Robin says the idea of being carbon neutral stemmed from wanting to keep the process as traditional as possible.

“We always had a keen eye on low energy consumption, but did something a little bit unconventional,” he explains. “We dug out a cheese ‘cave’ cellar underneath the dairy, where the cheese matures.” Down in the cave, the temperature remains stable at the ideal 10-12C temperature required for maturing.

Normally, a massive refrigeration unit would be used to keep the temperature low during the ten-month maturation period, so the innovative cheese cave means that much less energy is needed to complete the cheesemaking process.

“As soon as we finish milking in the morning, we pour it into our cheese vat,” Robin continues. It’s necessary to raise the temperature by 8C from that point, but the farm has installed solar panels and a ground source heat pump for this purpose.

To put the “icing on the cake,” the farm then purchased an electric vehicle with which to deliver their cheese to retailers. So the process behind getting Winterdale cheese onto counters is now entirely carbon neutral. “We’re really proud of it, to be honest,” Robin concludes, “it’s a great achievement for us.”

There are two types of cheese made on the farm: Winterdale Shaw and Winterdale Oak Smoked. 

An industry changing effort?

Robin recollects that earlier this year, Winterdale hosted the annual dairy tour of the Specialist Cheese Makers Association – calling it “an honour”.

“We had them round here to show them how we do things. They admired what we’ve achieved, but a lot of dairy-farmers-come-cheesemakers are investing in photovoltaics and looking at reducing energy consumption anyway. But if we give impetus to [other cheesemakers] to strive to do that, I’m more than happy really. If other people do it too, all the better as far as I’m concerned.”

Award-winning from the first batch

Winterdale Shaw cheese took Bronze in the 2006 World Cheese Awards, with the very first batch of cheese that the farm produced. In following years, they’ve picked up both silver and gold awards for their cheese, and they’ve won various awards every single year so far.

Their cave, muses Robin, might be one reason behind their success. “It’s such a wonderful natural environment to mature the cheese in. It helps to produce a cheese that’s a bit more individual and matures very gently, and I think that goes towards producing a really good cheese.”

Is unpasteurised popular?

Winterdale’s cheeses are unpasteurised. In the past, there have been concerns about the consumption of unpasteurised goods due to health fears, but Robin says that he actually finds people actively seek them out.

“We sell unpasteurised milk in the farm shop as well, and that has a big following, mainly because of the nutritional benefits,” he argues. “Clearly, there are risks in life – driving a car, flying in an aeroplane. And there will be risks with unpasteurised cheese and milk.”

The farm is compelled by law to label their products with a warning saying that they may contain organisms damaging to health. But, notes Robin, “I grew up with unpasteurised milk from a very young age, and so have our children, and it’s never been a problem. I think that’s because of the way technology has advanced in terms of dairies and parlours, and the way we milk cows now. It makes the risks minimal.”

The nutritional benefits of milk that hasn’t been heat-treated, he argues, “are far superior to that of pasteurised.” You can also enjoy a “better tasting cheese and a longer flavour as well.” He doesn’t think that people are really wary of these products – in fact, quite the opposite. “It’s an up and coming thing that people are wanting, for those very reasons.”

What do you make of Robin's carbon-neutral efforts? And what do you make of unpasteurised cheese? Have you ever tried Winterdale's produce? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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