Whitestone Cheese is one of the New Zealand
South Island's leading cheese companies. The company is based in
Oamaru
Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...
, and takes its name from the
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
known as
Oamaru stone
Oamaru stone, sometimes called whitestone, is a hard, compact limestone, quarried at Weston, near Oamaru in Otago, New Zealand.
Oamaru stone was used on many of the grand public buildings in the towns and cities of the southern South Island, e ...
which is quarried locally. The cheese is made with no artificial additives and milk from local regional livestock.
History
Whitestone Cheese was founded in 1987 by Bob and Sue Berry, former farmers, in response to crippling droughts and a rural downturn in the 1980s.
The company moved to new larger premises in Torridge Street, Oamaru in 1998,
now employs over 70 people (as at October 2017),
and now exports to countries such as the United States.
[Owens, Peter]
A specialty cheese leaderArchived copy
" Endex industry news. Simon Berry is managing director.
* 1987: Established in a converted garage in
Oamaru
Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...
* 1998: Moved into larger premises
* 2017: Factory expansion
Cheese awards
Most of the company's cheese varieties have won awards. The company's original Farmhouse cheese won the 2005 Champion Original Cheese Award,
with the Windsor Blue cheese winning the Champion of Champions Award at the 2006 New Zealand Cheese Awards. The same cheese won the Gold Medal in international competition the same year at the 2006 Brisbane International Cheese Awards.
Since then the company has racked up a considerable number of other awards at the national level.
Cheese varieties
The company emphasises the regional nature of the cheese by naming its cheese varieties after local places. Whitestone makes 23 different specialist cheeses, the most well-known of which is Whitestone Windsor Blue. Other varieties made include Waitaki
Camembert
Camembert (, also , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look and taste to brie cheese, albeit wi ...
, Whitestone Farmhouse, Whitestone Brie, Mt Domet Double Cream Brie, Moeraki Bay Blue, Highland Blue, Totara Tasty, Manuka
Feta
Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it ...
, and four sheep's milk cheeses (notably Monte Cristo). Three goat's milk cheeses are also made: Parson's Rock, Duntroon and Danseys Pass.
See also
*
List of cheesemakers
This is a list of notable cheesemakers. Cheesemakers are people or companies that make cheese, who have developed the knowledge and skills required to convert milk into cheese. Cheesemaking involves controlling precisely the types and amounts o ...
References
External links
Whitestone Cheese website
New Zealand cheeses
Oamaru
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