Village Squire, 1978-01, Page 13the curds are piled up along the sides to drain and mat together.
This operation is repeated several times until the cheese is
matted completely. It is then cut again and put through a mill to
create the curds which many people like to eat in themselves
land which are on sale at the factory). The curds are then packed
in the boxes and pressure applied until the final 40 -pound block
of cheese is formed.
The secret to cheddar's flavour is in the aging. The huge
storeroom at Pine River holds stacks of the 40 pound blocks
aging, w: aiting for sale. Mild cheese is aged for about two
months. medium for four to six months, year old for 12 and extra
old for two years or more.
While Pine River is famous for its cheddar, more and more it is
switching to other types of cheese. Colby and Farmers cheese
are now. being produced as well as the Cheddar. The reason is
that the once unlimited market for cheddar cheese has dwindled.
With the entry of the United Kingdom into the European
Common Market Canadian exports to that country were killed. In
addition, consumption in Canada dropped.
Prices for cheese have skyrocketed in recent years due to
increased prices for milk as the Ontario Milk Marketing Board
tried to stem the flow: of farmers out of the dairy business.
Earlier in the 1970's faced with poor incomes. long work days
and seven day work weeks, farmers were abandoning the
business at record rates. Higher milk prices have improved the
income situation and slowed the flow. But it hasn't helped the
consumption of cheddar which now: wholesales at S1.20 in 40
pound blocks and retails at $1.70.
But cheddar w:as once almost the only cheese eaten in Canada
while today imported cheeses are so plentiful that the Toronto
Life food guide reviewed 159 varieties. The flow of cheese once
so heavy from Canada to Europe has been reversed and today
the imported European cheeses are making Canada a large
importer of cheeses. At a time when Canadian farmers can't find
a market for all their milk it has caused a good deal of bitterness
ENTIRE STOCK
OF SHEARLING AND HEAVY
PILE LINED WINTER FOOTWEAR
20-50Z
ALL OTHER LINES OF
FOOTWEAR
10% TO 500/0 DISCOUNT
Re44 .54e
.540
142 The Square Goderich, Ont.
in the industry, especially since European dairy production is
heavily subsidized.
The shift to cheeses such as Farmers and Colby has been a
kind of forced marriage for many of the cheese making plants.
The Ontario Milk Marketing Board governs all production on
farms through quotas and at manufacturing plants through
quotas. With dropping sales of cheddar, the quotas of milk to
cheddar plants have been cut back year by year. But to
encourage production of specialty cheeses the O.M.M.B.. has
allowed the cheese factories to buy all the milk they want,
regardless of their quota allotment. Still it's a bitter pill 'to
swallow for plants such as Pine River, which has become famous
for its cheddar, that they can't get enough milk to produce all the
cheddar they think they can sell.
Such cutbacks have been a lot harder on other cheese plants in
Ontario, however. Over the years, Don Martin says, the number
of cheese plants has dropped from 1200-1400 in Ontario alone to
some 600 dairy plants of all kinds in the whole of Canada today.
In that light, Pine River looks pretty fortunate.
In addition Pine River has another ace in the whole. Those
hundreds of people who lined up on Thanksgiving day are just
part of the large amount of business that is done through the
retail outlet at the factory. Pine River is, Don.Martin says, one of
the top three factories in the amount it sells through its retail
outlet. The big advantage of this is that all milk used for cheese
sold through the retail outlet at the factory is exempt from the
quota for the year. It means, an extra month's production a year
for the factory. Don says. "If we didn't have that, we'd be in
trouble."
Still the plant is producing below its capacity working only a
four day week.
But for all the problems, Pine River obviously is looking to the
future with its recent improvements and that's good news indeed
for those who think that cheddar cheese isn't cheese unless it has
the Pine River symbol on the side.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JANUARY 1978. 11.