Epicure again on sale

Press, 15 December 1983, Page 16

Epicure again on sale

A cheese described by the Dairy Board as “the RollsRoyce of Cheddars” is back on the New Zealand market. The product is Epicure, a cheese which has been made in New Zealand since early this century and was exported in more recent years. But the process which was used to make the cheese was too costly and inefficient for large-scale manufacturing, and it was taken off the New Zealand market. Epicure’s flavour is created by a long maturation and curing. Originally 101 b cylinders of the cheese were wrapped in muslin and stored for several weeks while a rind formed and the curing process began. The cheeses were then sealed in cans which were packed in sawdust to absorb any excess moisture. This expensive process had a high wastage rate.

A new system developed recently for maturing the cheese will mean less wastage and expense, the Dairy Board says. Expicure cheese was relaunched more than a month ago in I.9kg blocks, which are cut by the retailer and sold in random

weights. The board says that initial response to the product has been “enthusiastic.” It plans to follow up this success with the release of 250 g, prepackaged blocks of cheese. It hopes to introduce these to the market next year.