Every morning and evening for nine months Hans Stutz and Esther Haeusermann of Tongola Goat Prouducts milk 20 goats, a very small herd for a commercial enterprise, but half way to as big as they ever want it to be.
That’s partly because their 6.5 hectares on the ridge overlooking the Huon River near Cygnet could not support many more animals, especially as their 20 milking does had 35 kids this year, but more importantly, because they are, says Esther “very fussy”.
“We want to handle ourselves, and already now there is a lot of work,” she said. They do not to buy milk in, nor are they keen on bringing in new animals, because they invariably take a dip in health before they adjust to the new feed, surroundings and social milieu.
The alarm goes off at 5:50 every morning and they begin milking at about 7am. At this time of year they get about 50 litres a day from the does, down from 80 litres in September, and it will drop to 30 litres by mid June, when they stop milking and give the goats and themselves a break for three months.
However they yield of cheese from the milk - around 10kg a day depending on what type - remains most constant. Why? “That’s the cheesemaker’s miracle,” says Esther. Actually says Hans it is because the level or proteins, especially caserin, goes up, as the lactation progresses.
Milking takes a couple of hours in the morning, and by the time pasteurisation inoculation and cheese making are complete it will be 11am or 2pm, depending on which cheese they are making. Then there is time for chores before the evening milking, dinner and perhaps packing a few orders or a little book keeping.
Capris is similar in texture to Curdly, but is shaped in a hoop and salted. For a stronger-tasting cheese it can be left in the fridge unwrapped. Billy is a washed-rind cheese that requires a great deal of care; it requires turning every day for 40 days until it is released for sale.
The newest addition is Bloom, a white-mould cheese, normally sold at two weeks old, but best kept for another week or two - press is gently in the middle and eat it at room temperature when it is soft.
None of the cheeses is vacuum-packed which means the product has a shorter shelf life, but is “a big plus for the customer” say Hans because it means they always get a fresh cheese.
The couple met in 1996, in their native Switzerland, after Hans already had bought the land in Cygnet. Esther had spent the previous nine summers tending cows in the mountains. The summers they met, together they looked after a mixed cow and goat herd and made cheese - which is much essier to transport down the mountain than milk.
By then, the use of the steep land in Tasmania was decided, and a name was chosen - Tongola - which meats mountain hut in an old Swiss dialect.
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