Cheese is usually seen as a fine dairy product from Europe, but now, the commodity is making its mark in Yogyakarta and Central Java.

Cheese production in Boyolali, a small town on the slopes of Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu in Central Java, started in 2007 when dairy farmers in the regency received assistance from a German NGO.

Abundant milk production led them to come up with the idea of conducting training on manufacturing new dairy products such as soaps, cheese and yogurt. The idea received a warm welcome and in 2009 a cheese cooperative named Indrakila was established in Boyolali.

According to Boyolali Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Agency data, dairy cattle breeders in the region can produce around 80,000 liters of milk a day from around 60,000 cows.

In Indrakila, the cheese production remains at the home industry level, having the capacity of consuming only 3,000 to 5,000 liters of milk. Employing five workers a day, Indrakila can produce varied natural cheese products such as mountain, mozzarella and feta.

“We are currently also developing a cheese variant inspired by the Camembert cheese. But, as this is produced here in Boyolali, we call it Boyobert cheese,” Indrakila’s production manager Romi Anjas said.

Romi said all the cheese products they made underwent various adjustment processes. The basic recipe, he said, referred to international standards. 

However, in the production process, some adjustments are made to suit differences in the milk’s nutritional characteristics given the variation in food types and farming techniques between dairy cows in Europe and in Boyolali.

Indrakila also adds some innovations to the cheese flavor by including certain ingredients, from oregano to chili, black pepper and olive oil.

The products are marketed to various cities in Indonesia including Semarang and Wonosobo in Central Java, Malang in East Java, Pontianak in West Kalimantan and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan. Direct buyers include owners of restaurants, cafes and hotels. They use the cheese in their menus.

Retail distributors are so far only available in Yogyakarta and Bali although the products can also be purchased online. The price is much lower than imported products, between Rp 125,000 (US$9.10) and Rp 180,000 per
kilogram.

The curd from the cheese-making process is also collected for local farmers and breeders to use as either organic fertilizers or as a mixture for additional foods for their livestock.

The popularity of cheese in Indonesia has also led a family in Yogyakarta to produce artisanal cheese.

Married couple Muhamad “Jamie” Najmi and Nieta Pricillia founded Mazaraat Artisan Cheese in 2015.

Stressing the use of milk in making cheese, they use local organic milk as their basic material.

Jamie said Mazaraat cheese used milk from dairy farmers in Yogyakarta.

“Local organic milk is the best, with a maximum transportation distance of 30 kilometers,” he said during a workshop in Bali, explaining that the farther the milk source is located, the less balanced its fermentation would be.

When facing difficulties securing fresh milk, such as in Bali, the closest material that can be used is pasteurized milk.

The second crucial ingredient is kefir, a cheese culture medium to be mixed with milk in the cheese-making process He suggested adding kefir to 1 liter of milk, cover the mixture with cloth and leaving it for 24 hours at room temperature. Before further processing, strain it with a plastic tea sieve to produce kefir milk and new kefir grains for further cheese-making.

The third ingredient is the enzyme rennet, the only ingredient that is still imported since its production requires special laboratory equipment.

“It’s uneconomical to produce rennet, especially as Indonesia only has six cheese artisans so far,” said Jamie.

Mazaraat produces camembert, gouda, feta and halloumi, which is like tofu and can be directly consumed or prepared as food.

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