World Cheese Lovers Day celebrated in Altai Territory

The rich variety of flavors and benefits of one of the most popular dairy products - cheese - was the reason for the formation of World Cheese Day. For the region, this holiday is very symbolic, because the Altai Territory occupies a leading position among the constituent entities of RUSSIA in the production of this product and is rightfully the most cheese-producing region.
Today, 48 cheese-making enterprises operate in the Altai Territory, the total production of which in 2021 amounted to more than 60 thousand tons of cheese. Soft, semi-hard, hard, moldy, pickled, processed, smoked, and even grilled and grilled cheeses - a very wide range is produced at the region's factories.
"Altai is a cheese region" - in 2007 this statement became the slogan of the first cheese festival in Altai. There are many places in Russia where good cheese is brewed, but no other region of our country has held a festival of this level. Thanks to the cheese holidays, the Altai Territory is now known in the country and the world as a region of centuries-old traditions of elite cheesemaking and the birthplace of the invention of the best recipes for domestic cheeses. Even during the pandemic, Altai cheese makers found a format for presenting a product they are proud of and held the festival online, organizing unique excursions to production, games and quizzes, generous gifts, tastings, a cheese flash mob on the streets, and attractive promotions in retail chains.
Working on improving production technologies and developing new recipes, Altai cheese makers continue to amaze with new types of cheeses.
So, Novoaltaysky Butter and Cheese Plant produced two new cheese products last year: spicy semi-hard cheese "Caseus Adjario" with the addition of Abkhazian adjika, which was appreciated by lovers of unusual taste and restrained sharpness, and hard cheese "Raut" with sheep's MILK, created in the best traditions of European cheese making. For its production, only farm raw materials with high protein levels are used.
Logovskaya CHEESE FACTORY also pleased its customers with three new types of cheese: Cheddar, Petrovsky and Petrovsky Garden. Classic hard cheese "Cheddar" - creamy, sharp, with a slight sourness and a nutty aftertaste - goes on sale only after six months of ripening under conditions of manual care and the close attention of cheesemakers. A distinctive feature of the production of Petrovsky cheese is that ripening takes place without the use of bags and under certain conditions of temperature and humidity, which contributes to the formation of the correct crust and consistency of the cheese. The production of Petrovsky Sad cheese was inspired by the history of the gardens of Peter the Great, where hundreds of species of fragrant flowers were grown. This cheese contains not only the best taste qualities of "Petrovsky cheese",
A fundamentally new project was implemented at the Ust-Kalman Butter and Cheese Plant. Here they launched a new product for professional cooking - cream cheese "Kitchn!". A new line with a capacity of 480 tons of curd cheese per month was installed at the plant. Cream cheese is produced using the innovative technology of membrane ultrafiltration, which allows you to carefully concentrate the milk protein. The product is intended for the preparation of rolls, desserts, sauces and complex dishes, was successfully presented in October last year at the International Exhibition of the Hospitality Industry "PIR EXPO", and is already very popular among professional confectioners and chefs.
The Kiprino company has completed reconstruction work at one of its factories in the village of. Troitskoye and launched the production of Grand Prix and Maasdam cheeses there, using new ripening technologies. Now cheeses produced in blocks of 25 kg are ripened in crates - special cheese chambers. In addition, in March 2021, the company launched a large-scale reconstruction of its warehouse complex in Novoaltaysk: three loading bays were repaired, a new freezer with a storage capacity of 380 tons of oil was created, and shelving storage area was increased. Due to the reconstruction, the storage of cheese products was increased by 200 tons, and butter - by 360.
"Kuyagansky Butter and Cheese Plant", following the requirements of modern retail, supplemented its range of classic hard cheeses - "Soviet", "Swiss", "Mountain" and "Altai" - with products in the "mini" format. The small 5.5 kg bars are very popular with convenience stores and end users.
The Altai Butter and Cheese Plant is developing the production of an innovative product - cheese with extracts of Altai deer antlers. "White Maral" - this is the name of the new cheese - is in demand in the markets of Central Russia. In search of non-standard solutions for the sale of classic cheeses, the plant's marketers have developed a new label for their products. For example, the cheese label “Soviet XXI Century” “comes to life”: when you point your smartphone camera at a special code and download the application, the buyer sees a humorous video featuring historical characters of the corresponding era.
The assortment portfolio of OOO Kholod (TM Bely Zamok) was replenished with soft classic pickled cheese Mozzarella, and at Stolitsa Moloka - with semi-hard cheese Favorit Mini and Gouda.
Updated products from the Rikon plant appeared on the shelves of Russian stores: the marketing department carried out a comprehensive update of the corporate identity of the Zimarechye and Ellazan brands. The company is constantly upgrading production. Last year, a project for integrated production automation was implemented here, new Italian equipment for the production of cheddared cheeses and a line for the production of soft cheeses were installed. The launch of the equipment is planned in the near future.
The manufacturer of craft cheeses Solonovkino has developed a line of new cheeses based on Italian technologies: delicate Fontina semi-hard cheese enriched with nutty, herbal and fruit notes, Pecorino sheep cheese and Nostrano extra-hard cheese with saffron addition, Gorgonzola blue dessert cheese and semi-soft Taleggio Bianca cheese with a fruity and nutty tinge.