Hokkaido raw milk meets Italian cheese

Fattoria Bio is a farm in southern Italy with an old history in cheese production. The artisan who was making cheese there had the goal of making “the best cheese” and was looking for the right milk to go with it. He came across high-quality milk produced by dairy cows raised in the rich land of Hokkaido. Fattoria Bio Hokkaido was formed when people from different countries joined forces in pursuit of the common goal of such delicious taste. Here, they are using raw milk produced in Hokkaido to make the best cheese possible. The cheese selection includes fresh ricotta cheese, caciocavallo, and mozzarella cheese, all of which are rare in Japan. At the factory, Nakata is very interested in the process of making cheese by hand. He even got to try scooping ricotta cheese. Nakata was impressed by the “freshness” of the cheese, which he said he could not taste even in Italy. The fresh taste of the ingredients is clearly something that cannot be produced in mass production. The shelf life is only about a week.

The artisan who makes the best cheese

The best cheese is handmade by cheese master Giovanni Graziano using traditional Italian methods. Originally from Calabria in southwestern Italy, he learned the secrets of cheese making handed down in his family from generation to generation while helping his father, a cheese maker, from the age of 5. 20 years old, he worked as a core member of the cheese making team at Fattoria Bio, a farm in southern Italy with a long history and tradition. Since coming to Japan, he has been making cheese every day with the desire to “import the best Italian cheese and its production methods to Japan and spread the culture of Italian fresh cheese in the Japanese archipelago.

Elegant cheese made by Italian technology

Fresh Italian cheese is very popular in restaurants, since frozen cheese loses its juicy flavor. Ricotta cheese is especially popular with chefs and is used in appetizers and salads. Nakata also exclaims, “It would surely be interesting to use sakekasu to make a cheese that goes well with sake. The sticky burrata, made by wrapping torn mozzarella and cream in mozzarella base, has “an elegant taste. Nakata said, “It has an elegant flavor, and the amount of salt gives it a different look. Many people buy caciocavallo, which is also delicious baked, for home use. The combination of high-quality Japanese raw milk and traditional Italian techniques produces a cheese that, once tasted, is unforgettable.

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Kasei Farm’s Challenge to Breed “Gandhi Cattle

In the Wajima area northwest of Nagaoka City, an area of lush greenery known as the home of Ryokan, a Buddhist monk born in the late Edo period and beloved by the common people, there is a ranch that raises ” Gandhi breed ” dairy cattle, which are rare in Japan. The Gandhi breed, or Gandhi cow, is a rare breed with fewer than 200 cows in Japan, and is currently raised only in Niigata, Tochigi, and Oita prefectures. Imported to Japan at the end of the Meiji period (1868-1912), Gandhi cows are characterized by their higher overall nutritional value compared to ordinary milk (Holstein breed).

I started my dairy farm 50 years ago and began raising Gandhi cows 20 years ago. I was ridiculed at the time, but now I can do it with confidence,” said Tsutomu Kasei, president of Kasei Farm. While in high school at an agricultural high school, he received training from a dairy farmer in Hokkaido, which made him yearn to live on a ranch, and in 1972, he began raising a single Holstein calf. In 1995, he expanded the size of his dairy farm to 60 cows, but the work only became more demanding in proportion to the number of cows, and he began to feel the limits of his physical strength. He therefore switched to a policy of producing high quality milk with high added value in order to reduce his workload and maintain his income. What he came across was Gandhi milk.

Currently, Holstein and Jersey breeds account for most of the dairy cows in Japan. The number of Gandhi cows, which originate from Cansey Island (England) in the English Channel, is decreasing every year. In addition to the small number of Gandhi cows, the amount of milk that can be milked per day is only about half that of the common Holstein breed. However, “Gandhi milk is richer and richer than any other type of milk, and it is very refreshing and easy to drink,” was Kasei’s impression when he first drank Gandhi milk. Because of its nutritional value, taste, and rarity, Gandhi milk has been called “golden milk” or “aristocrat’s milk” in Europe and the United States. Its high fat content makes it suitable for making gelato and ice cream.

Delivering Delicious Milk

It was 1997 when the first Kanjie cow finally arrived at Kasei-san’s dairy farm after he asked a number of dairies across Japan to sell their cows to him. She was a one-month-old cow. He carefully raised her and now has many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren living on his ranch. The cows are fed with a blend of grass rich in fiber, sugar, and protein. When milking, the cows are carefully massaged with a towel wetted with warm water before being disinfected and milked twice a day. Depending on the cow’s physical condition, sometimes it is easy to milk the cow and sometimes it is difficult. The rare breed of cows also presented some difficulties. There are only a few dairy farmers keeping cows in the first place, so there is no data on cow rearing methods or diseases, and there is no system for sharing data. Even if you consulted a veterinarian, he or she would tell you that they don’t know what to do with these cows.” Still, he says, there is an attraction to raising Gandhi cows. The product that consumers get is priced higher than regular milk. Still, there is certainly a demand for “good tasting milk.

As a producer, I am most pleased when people recognize the taste of our milk, ” says Kasei. In order to make the sweetness, richness, and refreshing drinkability of Gandhi milk known to more people, we would like to increase the number of Gandhi cow fans by shortening the distance between consumers and producers and creating mechanisms to convey our message as producers in an easy-to-understand manner, such as our own commitment and the experiences we can have because we come to the area. We would like to increase the number of Gandhi beef fans by creating mechanisms to convey our message as producers in an easy-to-understand manner. Incidentally, because the fat content is higher in winter than in summer, Gandhi milk ice cream has a refreshing taste in summer and becomes even more delicious in winter. Visitors can enjoy gelato and soft-serve ice cream at Kasei Ranch – Washima Honten, a directly managed store located a short distance away from the ranch. The shop also sells a variety of cakes and baked goods. We hope that you will visit the ranch and taste the difference in taste while experiencing the producer’s thoughts and feelings.

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History of Koiwai Farm

Koiwai Farm is located northeast of Morioka city at the southern foot of Mt. Iwate. The farm spreads in a vast land of 300,000 square meters. A part of the farm is open to the public as the Koiwai Farm Makiba-en and is a huge tourist site that is famous in Japan.
The farm was born about 120 years ago in 1891. It started when Masaru Inoue who is known as the father of the Japanese railways, visited this land for inspection for the Tohoku line construction project and thought of opening a farm in this barren wilderness. When he told his idea to Gishin Ono who was the vice president of The Japan Railway, he introduced him to Yanosuke Iwasaki who was the 2nd president of Mitsubishi Corporation who agreed to invest in the farm. And that’s how the farm had started. The name Koiwai was derived from the first kanji characters of these three people, Ono, Iwasaki, and Inoue. After founding the farm, it took a lot of time for them to establish all the infrastructure but later they developed a breeding business” where they import excellent seed oxen from Europe and breed systematically in their farm in order to spread and support the dairy farm all over Japan. Furthermore, they planted trees in the barren wilderness and developed the farm into a comprehensive farm centering mainly on livestock and forestry.”

Rear cows while thinking about them..

”In the old days, everyone who worked on the farm used to live on the farm grounds. Therefore, everything you need for living such as primary school, day care center, and post office used to exist within the farm. In fact, preschool education in Iwate Prefecture started from Koiwai Farm. In addition, currently, 9 buildings are registered as Tangible Cultural Properties. And there are many buildings of historical value and many of them are still being used. At Koiwai Farm, the idea of continuing to use everything with care still exists deeply.” Explained Shohei Hamado who is in charge of ecotourism.
Next, we observed the barn that was built in the Heisei era and also a barn that has been used since the Meiji era. from a distance. The cows at Koiwai Farm have been bred systematically and as a result, you are able to know which cow is from which mother and eventually it goes back to the cow imported from Europe.
In the barn that has been used since the Meiji era, the health management of the cows is strict and it takes time and effort. However, in return they produce great milk so it’s worth the effort. On the other hand, the barn built in Heisei is managed as a group with free stalls and an open barn. The biggest problem for cows is stress, so this is a way to reduce stress as much as possible. ”We know how each calf was raised, and how the feed was grown, so this is how we can prove that it is all genuinely produced at Koiwai Farm. ”

Circulating Forestry

At Koiwai Farm, they also work on forestry. They showed us the trees with the signs of the year it was planted. Every year they plant a certain amount of seedlings per certain area and after 100 years they cut the trees that were planted first. This is called ”Hoseirin”, and it started in 1964 as an experimental forest. After 100 years, the forest resources in this area will be stable, and the amount of thinning, harvesting and planting will be constant. Then the forest can be maintained in the same state.
The objective is to carry out stable forestry while circulating the forest. The periodic maintenance of forest in a quantitative manner leads to the conservation of the national land and the preservation of the global environment. This is proven by looking at the forestry in Japan and in the world. The forests of the world is called ”the plunder forest” and is said to contribute to ”global warming” and ”desertification” by ”over cropping”. On the other hand, the Japanese forest is called ”the neglected forest” and said to contribute to ”natural disasters such as landslides” by ”logging too little”.
In the farm, they consider forestry from a wide perspective. They don’t simply look at lumber as raw material of wooden goods, but utilize wood as beds for mushrooms and mountain vegetables, or using thinned wood as wood chips with which to pave walkways with, or to make coasters for restaurants. They are also thinking about utilizing environmental studies and forest therapy etc.
Finally, we tried the milk which is only available in the farm store. ”Isn’t it refreshing?” asked Hamado. Yes it was a rather refreshing taste rather than creamy. ”

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A large ranch utilizing the slope

Ninohe ward is located in the northern part of Iwate. We visited Tsuyoshi Mitani, of Osanpo Jersey Mitani Ranch, who runs a dairy farm in this area known to be the coldest place in Iwate.
The first thing that caught our eyes was the mild slope. It was still the thaw season, and it was not possible for the cows to graze the field, so we could not actually see the cows roaming around. However, just imagining cows walking there made us feel really calm.
The cows were currently in the barn so Mitani guided us there. When you think about cows on a dairy farm, the first picture in our minds will be the black and white patterned Holstein cows. The cows here were light brown.

What kind of cows are Jersey cow?

These cows are called Jersey cows. They are one size smaller than the Holstein and according to Mitani, light cows like Jersey cows are more suitable for the sloped land in Iwate.
”Jersey cows were first imported because they produce milk even with poor soil. Holsteins are large so they do not like to walk. Holstein is more suitable for flat and large land like Hokkaido. Jersey cows are more suitable for the land of Iwate.”
Mitani was not originally born in a family with a ranch, but came to this area in 2000 as a new farmer. He graduated from Tokyo Agricultural University and thought ”I want a job that makes something” and walked all around Japan. That is when he found this place. He started with a small ranch with 5 cows, and took his time and effort to raise the cows. ”Wouldn’t the severe cold have a negative effect on the cows?” asked Nakata. ”In fact there isn’t. The water we give them comes from the well, so the temperature is the same throughout the year. And in the summer, they eat well and move well so they are healthy. In the winter it is cold enough so there are no diseases, and they grow strong.” And furthermore, the milk from the healthy cows taste deep but fresh.

Refreshing taste of milk

Jersey cows are raised all over the world, and since the milk has a high fat content, it is valued for making processed food such as butter. Mitani also makes processed food that he is proud of.
”The milk tastes really refreshing. So we make simple things such as Fromage or Mozzarella cheese. And we try to incorporate the customer’s feedback and requests.”
There are many other products he wants to make, and he let us taste some of them.

We asked what the goal is for the future and he replied ”We want to improve the quality of our management of the cows.” You cannot increase the number of the cows easily. That is not a good thing for the cows either. He also wants to improve the grass on the ranch since they eat raw grass. For now they want to increase the quality and not the quantity.
Simple products are dictated by the taste of milk. It is all determined by healthy cows.

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Homemade cheese you can have on the farm grounds

There is a dairy farm in a rich natural environment only about 20 minute drive from the center of Kobe. That is Yuge Farm. Every year, 30,000 people visit the small dairy farm raising 50 dairy cows with an area of about 16 acres. People come here for cheese. The dairy farm started to make cheese in 1984. Their cheese became a sensation and quite popular. The farm currently runs a restaurant where guests can enjoy a full-course meal.
”Fromage frais” is their most popular product. It is fresh cheese that is offered just before it matures. It has a fresh and light taste that suits the palate of Japanese. The cheese goes well with Japanese fermented food such as soy sauce and pickles.
At the restaurant, they serve ”Fromage frais” topped with sliced onion and shredded dried bonito, and seasoned with soy sauce, titled ”fresh cheese ala cold tofu” as an appetizer.

Relax and make yourself at home on the farm

Yuge Farm holds many different events including workshops and live events that also draw many visitors. In addition, many couples come to the farm to hold the wedding ceremonies. The casual feel of a wedding at the farm in nature conveys a special warmness, and has received a good reputation in contrast to the solemnness of churches or shrines.
The cheese producer Yuge told us that for them, cheese is like their children. Their cheese production is full of affection and thoughtfulness. Enjoy the gentle taste of their cheese.

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