The state of São Paulo has never been recognized for its cheesemaking tradition. It is not a culture passed from parents to children, as in Minas Gerais.
Because it is precisely this peculiar characteristic that is behind the notoriety that the cheese dairies in São Paulo have conquered inside and outside Brazil. As it is a recent movement, which is not more than ten years old, the cheesemakers here have daring and creativity as a common point.
Without the strings attached to old recipes, they constantly invent and propose innovations that have impressed even the homeland of cheese. In the latest edition of the Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers contest, held in France in September 2021, six producers from São Paulo returned home with 15 medals, including a Super Gold, the most coveted of them.
“As we don’t have any legislation to follow or a cultural code that holds us back, we have total freedom. And we’re totally crazy”, laughs Heloísa Collins, from Capril do Bosque, a cheese dairy specializing in goat’s cheese.
She returned from France with a silver medal for Dolce Bosco, blue goat’s cheese inspired by the Italian dolce gorgonzola —in the brand’s e-commerce, the 200-gram unit costs R$49. But she risks much more in her cheese factory, located in Joanópolis.
The Cacauzinho (R$ 22, 80 grams) is matured under a layer of cocoa powder and tonka. O Coração em Brasa (R$32, 160 grams) has Mexican peppers and a charcoal coating with white mold.
Also specializing in testing ingredients and maturation techniques was cheesemaker Carolina Bittencourt, another medalist at the Mondial du Fromage — her Bem Brasil Extra Maturado cheese (R$82, 500 grams) won gold in the contest.
At the Belafazenda cheese factory, in Bofete, she still produces Sinueiro, which ages wrapped in cotton bandages and pork lard (R$ 35, 200 g).
Just look at the curriculum of the new cheesemakers from São Paulo to find another point in common: most have higher education in other careers and a vastly stamped passport, which translates into more repertoire.
They are historians, veterinarians, publicists and former executives who decided to change their lives and started to study cheese production, inside and outside Brazil. Not by chance, they are inspired by classic recipes, usually of European origin, but they have enough courage and technical mastery to create authorial products.
An electronic engineer by training and a former multinational executive, the Frenchman Christophe Faraud left his home country for a place in Natividade da Serra. After some internships in cheese dairies in France, he started producing “in the face of the wood” in 2016, in partnership with his wife, Zeide.
One of the creations of the duo Christophe & Zeide is the Caetê cheese (R$ 50, 225 g), made from semi-cooked pressed dough, which matures for up to 90 days wrapped in caetê leaves. “Switching from a corporate career to making cheese takes study and a few screws loose,” he says.
Although they are vying for the same market share, São Paulo cheesemakers work increasingly together. About six dozen of them are already part of the Associação Paulista do Queijo Artesanal, an entity that Christophe founded in 2017 with the aim of fighting for more accessible laws that allow small producers to regularize their cheese factories.
In the same year, a group of ten cheesemakers came together to form the Caminho do Queijo Artesanal Paulista, a tourist route that has just been updated and now incorporates 13 rural properties, producing cow, buffalo, goat and sheep cheese.
Most receive visitors and organize tastings, but in some of them it is also possible to have meals on weekends and holidays — such as Capril do Bosque, which has a small bistro, and Fazenda Atalaia, a beautiful historic building in Amparo, which serves breakfast and lunch.
There are also cheese dairies that are featured in the São Paulo State Tourism Department’s Gastronomic Routes program.
Although long-maturation cheeses are the trend, there are cheesemakers from São Paulo investing in the opposite direction. Brivido (brivido.com.br), by cheesemaker Francisco Lobello, specializes in fresh white cheese, which arrives at customers’ homes the day after production, and creamy ricotta, inspired by the Italian recipe, quite different from the industrialized version. .
The milk comes from neighboring properties and the factory, brand new, has just moved from the capital to Jacareí — the intention is to open it to visitors soon.
Buffalo mozzarella, in bars or in acorns of different sizes, are the flagship of the Oro Bianco dairy in Guaratinguetá (orobianco.com.br). Cheese maker Simon Riess, trained in Italy and Germany, uses his own herd’s milk, makes deliveries in São Paulo and receives tourists, just by scheduling.
Although the art of cheese making is recent in the state, there are people who swear they are following centuries-old recipes. When Rodrigo Ferraz’s family acquired a farm in Vale do Baú, between Campos do Jordão and São Bento do Sapucaí, they discovered that the surrounding residents produced cheese made from raw cow’s milk.
“It was made there for over a hundred years, probably brought by families from Minas Gerais, who migrated to São Paulo in search of wealth in the coffee cycle”, says Ferraz, who learned the technique to continue the tradition — via Instagram @queijodobau, he sells the cheese and schedules tours of the property.
Porungo, a recipe from Angatuba that Jolice Cardoso’s family has known for generations, is made like the Cabacinha cheese from Minas Gerais, or the Italian Cavalo caccio — it is a cooked pasta, like mozzarella, modeled in the shape of a calabash. “The other families that make this cheese here learned the recipe from my grandmother”, guarantees Jolice, who accepts orders via WhatsApp (15) 99607-8435.
Buying artisanal cheeses from São Paulo does require a little dedication — produced on a small scale, they do not reach supermarkets, but most are delivered to the capital by order, through online stores, Instagram or WhatsApp.
It can be practical, but not as enjoyable as visiting a specialty store in person. At Galeria dos Queijos (galeriadoqueijo.com.br), located inside Hortifruti Imigrantes, a conversation with owner Falco Bonfadini can yield interesting discoveries — a juror for the Prêmio Queijo Brasil and the World Cheese Awards, held in England, he always has news.
“The cheeses that grew the most in sales were the most matured, with washed rinds or mold. Customers are allowing themselves to try more”, he reveals.
Fernando Oliveira’s sieve is also a guarantee of good cheese. Founder of the store A Queijaria, in Vila Madalena, and author of Guia do Queijo (guiadoqueijo.com.br), he mines artisanal products from all over Brazil and maintains a school cheese factory, where several award-winning cheesemakers from São Paulo have passed.
In the classes, he says, six out of ten students are from São Paulo — which indicates that the cheese culture in the state is just beginning. Lucky for us.
eat, shop, travel
São Paulo itineraries for artisan cheese lovers
Paulista Artisan Cheese Path
Of the 13 rural properties, nine receive visitors by appointment or sell cheese on site. Among the winners are Pardinho Artesanal (pardinhoartesanal.com.br), a super gold medal at the Mondial du Fromage with Mandala 12 months, and Queijo com Arte/Fazenda Santa Luzia (queijocomarte.com.br), which brought gold and two silver for the Gregorio, Fernão and Tropeirinho cheeses.
On the organization’s website, it is possible to purchase the Discover o Caminho do Queijo box, containing three assorted products, a board and the map poster, for R$ 200 (free shipping to the city of São Paulo).
caminhodoqueijopaulista.com
Gastronomic Routes
There are three routes organized by region (Vale do Ribeira, Vale do Paraíba & Mantiqueira, and Baixada Santista & Litoral Norte). On the website, it is possible to know the stories of each participant, including Estância Silvania, which produces SilvaniA2 cheeses (@leitea2a2) – cheesemaker Camila Almeida Alves returned from France with two gold medals, for Primavera Silvania cheeses, aged with flowers edibles, and Serrinha Cerveja, whose rind is washed in craft beer.
sppratodos.com.br/rotasgastronomicas,
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
