Tongola Cheese | Food & drink
Tongola Cheese
Phone: +61 427 355 879
Reviews
to load big map
23.01.2022 It’s the Bream Creek Farmers Market this Sunday. We will be there, with Curdy 500g packs for $20. And then by our next market, we’ll have started kidding and might even have new seasons cheese available!!! I’m exhausted and so excited just thinking about it all. In the meantime - Curdy, goat meat, beef and smiles available from us on Sunday morning from 9am to 1pm. Hope to see you there!!
22.01.2022 Good News! We’ll be at Farmgate Market on Sunday with these 500g tubs of Curdy. We will also have Zoé and Big B cheeses. Bad News: this is our last Farmgate until October, when we start milking again and making cheese again. You guys have be so supportive of us, we’ve run out of everything except Curdy! You will be able to purchase more (frozen) Curdy over the next few months - keep an eye on our socials, or contact us directly if your stash is running low. ... Finally, thank you all so much for all your support this season, especially during The corona-times, which has been challenging for everyone.
22.01.2022 Cheese Season is well and truly here! These beauties are heading off to Port Arthur, but if you would like Zoé, Pippi’s, Curdy, Capris or very young Bloom, come and see Iain at Farm Gate Market this Sunday
21.01.2022 Zoe for days!! All packed and ready to hop in the box and head to Farm Gate Market on Sunday morning. At this stage of the season, the fat content of the milk has started to drop off a little, resulting in a lighter curd. I know I struggled to eat much of the first batch of this cheese because of the richness! But I think these now have the right balance and just perfect. But then that’s just my humble opinion. I’m sure there are many of you who just love the rich ones at the start and end of our cheese making period. That’s the thing about artisan cheese - it changes with the seasons. It’s one of the difficulties but also the delights of being a crafter and eater of artisan cheese. You never quite know if this is the most perfect cheese, or whether it will be next week....
20.01.2022 Dreaming about a Zoé snack with a glass of wine right now? Me too... fortunately for us all, Zoé will be available this Sunday at Farmgate Market in Hobart, along with Curdy and Big B wedges. If you want any of our (award winning!) goat meat, we can help you out there too, but you need to order by Saturday evening 6pm so we can make sure it’s packed and ready to come with us. We have boned out roasts, shanks, mince, necks (limited!), backstrap and eye fillet. Leave a comment or send us a message. Head over to Leap Farm if you need more info about our meat!
18.01.2022 After all the anticipation, we’re excited to announce that we’re celebrating the start of cheese season with a Long Table Lunch. This on-farm experience will start with a tour around the dairy, so you can see what we do, how we do it, and why we choose to do it this way. You’ll have the opportunity to cuddle kids, and Iain will also talk about cheese making. From here, we’ll walk you to our long table in the paddock, where we’ll be serving you a menu crafted by Chef Massimo... Antonio Mele Mele made from Tongola Cheese fresh season cheeses, Leap Farm meats and Felds Farm fresh veg and bread. We’ll sit with you and explain and talk about our farming methods and values. The amazing menu will be accompanied by local wines. Of course, spring weather can be fickle. In the event of bad weather, we may have to relocate to the shed, and if the forecast is horrendous, we will need to reschedule, but we will ensure you have plenty of notice. Tickets are VERY limited!! To purchase, head to www.leapfarm.com.au
18.01.2022 Great to see the stories of our friends and collaborators on TV - coming to Landline this week!!
18.01.2022 This Friday @freycinetlodge are hosting a fabulous looking dinner featuring our cheese, @springvalewines and @yumbah abalone. As a lovely opportunity, all the producers (us too!) will be at the dinner so you can meet us, quiz us and find out more about how we do the things we do, and why. Tickets available from Freycinet Lodge: freycinetlodge.com.au/event/spring-vale-wine-dinner.html #goatcheese #tongolacheese #deliciousproduce #knowyourproducer #localfood #weeatlocal #editas #tassieeats #madeintasmania #supportlocal #eatseasonally #ethicaldairy #goatygoodness #eastcoasttasmania #tasmania #australia
18.01.2022 When the morning’s helper wants to help herself to the pudding... We’ve been practicing our Christmas dessert, and I think we’re onto a winner! With such amazing summer fruit around, why wouldn’t you opt for a cheesy Christmas pudding? And it’s easy, can be constructed the day before, or just pop it together about 3 hours prior to dessert time and chill it in the fridge. It’s not too sweet with this recipe, if you want it sweeter, add more sugar to the Curdy. ... To make this, start with the syrup: 100ml water, juice of a lemon (2 tbsp) and 1 tbsp of caster sugar, heat to dissolve. Once it’s cooked a little, add the berries (or nectarines, peaches, mangoes...) about 400-500g of fruit and let it sit after a brief stir. Meanwhile, whip 400g of Curdy with 50g of natural yoghurt, 1 tbsp of caster or icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. Make sure it’s well whipped! Line a dish with sponge fingers or a sponge cake (I used sponge fingers on this pud). Spoon over the top the Whipped Curdy. Then, pour over the syrup and fruit. Leave overnight (or minimum 3 hours) in the fridge. Doesn’t require any cream to serve! 500g tubs of Curdy will be available for sale from us at Farm Gate Market this Sunday, and again at the Eventide (23rd) Market, along with our other cheeses. Curdy Capris Bloom Zoé
17.01.2022 We had to head into town for a couple of reasons today. Conveniently, it was lunch time. Iain met back up with Pippi and me at Room for a pony for a yummy bite. We had to try the Winter Leaf salad with radicchio, fennel, orange, green olives and our Curdy. So good. And Pippi’s choc-chip cookie was insanely good too!
15.01.2022 Made pizza last night, used Curdy in the base. So good.... recipe on our website (link in bio)! This one has slices of Zoé on top, with @forkitfarm spicy chorizo and K and D micro herbs (coriander). Needless to say, Iain was disappointed he didn’t get pizza tonight again!... . . #goatcheese #tongolacheese #deliciousproduce #pizza #cheesypizza #recipeoftheday #knowyourproducer #localfood #weeatlocal #editas #hobarteats #madeintasmania #supportlocal #shoplocal #eatseasonally #ethicaldairy #goatygoodness #eastcoasttasmania #tasmania
15.01.2022 Fantastic day on the farm!! Iain went out to check out whether he could break out the snowboard - he’s been picking lines out for 8 years!! Maybe tomorrow if we get more tonight. Girls went out this morning, arrived home looking a bit snowy but relieved to get inside and into their warm shed. Loving the fact that their composting floor heats their quarters tonight.
13.01.2022 Announcement coming soon.....!!! #tongolacheese #leapfarm
11.01.2022 And just like that, cheese season is (almost here). This morning we opened the shed to find Threepy had kidded. She’s the first of about 85 to kid! But before we make cheese, we need to make sure all her colostrum has cleared. Like all mammals, the mother’s first milk (colostrum) is packed full of immune supporting antibodies. As the baby drinks, immunity is transferred from mum to bub. The colostrum is much thicker and very sticky, very different from milk. Of course it’s... full of antibodies: bacteria fighting immunoglobulins. So you just can’t make cheese from colostrum - the antibodies essentially neutralise the cheese cultures. This means that our fresh cheeses will be available in early October. We’ll make sure to keep you updated on how things are tracking here and when our first spring cheeses (which are rich and sweet) will be heading to retail outlets. In the meantime, we’ll keep posting pics of cute baby goats.
11.01.2022 Christmas Zoès - packed, now labeled, and will be ready for purchase on Wednesday 23rd at the Farm Gate Market Eventide Christmas Market - this market will be held in Hobart at the old K&D car park (Murray St). We’re looking forward to seeing you for your Christmas Cheese needs, whether that’s for your Christmas dinner or as a gift for that difficult to please family or friend. And we’ll be at the usual Sunday market on 27th so you can re-stock for New Year celebrations as ...well. Curdy Capris Bloom Zoé
11.01.2022 Take a peek under here! Iain’s been hard at work cheesing, so that we’ll have all the fresh cheeses at the Bream Creek Farmers Market this Sunday. Curdy Capris Bloom... Zoé Big B batches on the way - we doubled production of this cheese last season and want to do even more this year! It’s just such a delicious cheese. But it requires 3 months at least to mature, so not available until early 2021. Argh... the anticipation....!!!
11.01.2022 Here’s a pic of Coriander with one of her triplets, just hanging out having a cuddle. One of the reasons our cheese is so good is that we have happy goats and healthy udders. We milk the girls in the morning, then immediately after milking they are reunited with their kids (whether it’s 1, 2 or 3!). After the chaos of finding each other has settled and the first feed of the day is done, the herd is let loose on the farm. The kids continue to suckle during the day while the d...oes feast on thistle heads and blackberry leaves. They return home each evening with fat tummies, and are drafted into separate sleeping quarters. The girls get an extra ration of grain just before bed. I think if it as their G&T at the end of a day wrangling kids. We love our system, unusual though it is. It works for us, and allows us to keep every kid and give them a life on farm. We think it’s one way to farm dairy animals ethically (recognizing that there are many other ways to farm dairy ethically too). For more about our farm and our ladies and babies, head to Leap Farm
10.01.2022 Lunch today - freshly grated homegrown beetroot, thinly sliced red onion, Zoé cheese, crumbled, a glug of good quality local Extra Virgin Olive Oil, freshly ground pepper and a squeeze of lemon. So festive as well as delicious!
10.01.2022 I really have to thank Iain Field from Tongola Cheese for taking the time to show me how to make cheese today. A wonderful experience with a fascinating and pa...ssionate producer who is very generous with his insight and time. This is what is great about living in Tassie, it’s all on our front door step if you can be bothered trying!! See more
10.01.2022 What a fabulous day. The Leap Farm Long Table Lunch was a roaring success. We had an absolute blast and enjoyed it so much. The food by Massimo Mele was superb, featuring our goat near, beef and cheese along with ethically produced pork from FORK it FARM as well as bread and the most crunchy greens from Felds Farm. Not to mention the wine from Bream Crewk Vineyard. The Soarkling Rosé is just so good!
10.01.2022 Saffire Freycinet are combining Curdy with new season’s peas and Fennel Oil. I’ll just have to imagine how delicious this would be!
10.01.2022 Now sold out! Looking forward to catching up with all our guests for a feast on Sunday.
09.01.2022 The little hut is open, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Iain has all the cheese at Farm Gate Market this morning - until 12.30 or it’s sold out. Curdy Capris Bloom Zoé
07.01.2022 What an inspiring Sprout Tasmania Cross Pollinate conference this year. There was a great diversity of attendees - farmers, chefs, others who work in agricultur...e, foodies, not-for-profits and more, who were able to come together in a room that felt supportive and safe so that tough questions could be asked, frank feedback could be received and idea-seeds watered that have sprouted. All voices were heard thanks to great leadership in the room and in the small groups - with so much diversity of opinion and thought this conference has shown a degree of maturity that is rarely replicated. We are so thankful to have been a part of this and are so excited to see what comes forth. And so excited to have developed relationships and invested in connections which will make all of us Grow Stronger. So many people to thank, but special mention to Jen Robinson, the GM of Sprout. Outstanding leadership.
06.01.2022 What a great collaboration from our district. Cape Bernier have opened their newly refurbished cellar door, and it’s an absolutely fantastic space with views over the vineyard and seating both inside and outside in the sun. And then there is the local cheese platter, to nibble on as you sip the wine. With Tongola Zoé and Bream Creek Dairy cheeses, both of which you drive past to get to the vineyard... how cool is that! Such a great way to relax on summer’s afternoon. And you just might find a couple of farmer cheese makers there too.
06.01.2022 We’re often asked which one is your favourite cheese? For me (Kate), I think it’s Big B (see this one a couple of posts ago). For Iain, it seems to depend on where we are in the season, and what his mood is! Often it’s Bloom, sometimes it’s Zoé, but more often than not, it’s this one pictured: Curdy. He loves it’s simplicity, the cleanness of flavours, the smooth texture, and most of all, it’s versatility. This fresh cheese is unsalted, so can be used in sweet dishes as we...ll as savoury, as a topping to cool an Indian curry, as a pizza topping or pasta sauce, instead of sour cream, or in your Vegemite and Curdy wrap (!!!). Frankly, we reckon it just makes everything better. Available this weekend in 500g packs from our stall at Farmgate Market Hobart, Sunday morning. Beaut pic by Alice Bennett Photography on one of Ben’s gorgeous Ridgeline Pottery plates.
05.01.2022 The @leapfarm Long Table Lunch was a wonderful, muddy success, with only one uninvited guest! (Swipe to see who). @chefmassimomele did the most superb job in the face a very trying kitchen conditions (gumboots, mud, and no water on tap) and the @feldsfarm worked so hard to get food to the table. Lauren and I nearly lost our gumboots on more than one occasion! Our guests were fabulous, they brought gumboots, warm clothes and senses of humour with them, and all had a fantastic... time. So much gratitude to everyone, particularly Erin @mylifeasagoat who kept the usual farm work ticking along in the background (including sorting out the 3 or 4 girls who kidded during the lunch). So much gratitude to everyone. Thank you so much! #goatcheese #tongolacheese #deliciousproduce #knowyourproducer #localfood #weeatlocal #editas #hobarteats #madeintasmania #supportlocal #shoplocal #eatseasonally #ethicaldairy #goatygoodness #leapfarm #farmlife #regenag #regenerativeagriculture #sustainableag #familyfarm #beefcattle #pasturedbeef #dairygoats #pasturedgoat #meatgoats #longtablelunch
03.01.2022 Zoé - she’ll be available on Sunday at the Bream Creek Farmers Market for the last time before spring. Our girls are dried off now. Erin and I (Kate) are so excited for baby-season, while Iain is contemplating the volumes of work to be done on farm before he’s back into full-time cheese making again. Eek! Better hurry on Sunday - market opens at 9am, I’m sure they’ll be gone quickly! We’ll also have Curdy available, and all our Leap Farm goat and beef.
02.01.2022 The last of the Big B This Sunday sees the return of the Bream Creek Farmers Market - and we’ll be there with the last BigB of the year, some Zoé and Curdy. Well also have Leap Farm goat meat and beef. Early worms will get the cheese! See you Sunday at the Bream Creek Showground from 9am!
01.01.2022 Look at those ears!!! Reminds me of Donkey out of Shrek If you’re keen to get your hands on some new season’s Tongola Cheese - Iain will be at Farm Gate Mark...et (Hobart) on Sunday morning with all our fresh cheeses. Kate will be back at the farm, milking and putting today’s cheese in the brine: Big B!!! Only 3 months to go! Curdy Capris Zoé Bloom (although you’ll need to mature this one in your fridge for another 6 weeks).
