Cheese revolution as milk bacteria undergo DNA sequencing

Cheese eaters rejoice. A development announced by the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers' Association is set to revolutionise the way great cheese is made in Australia. With Victorian Government funding, four cheesemakers – Prom Country Cheese, Maffra Cheese, L'Artisan Cheese and Holy Goat Cheese – are having the DNA in the bacteria in their raw milk sequenced.

Once the beneficial bacteria are identified from each herd's milk, these bugs will be added back to their pasteurised milk. The result, they hope, will be cheeses with more complex flavour to reflect the terroir of each farm.

Carla Meurs, president of the cheesemakers' association and co-owner of Holy Goat Cheese, says, "I'm really excited about being able to uncover the huge diversity of beneficial microbes in our goat's milk and our farm, and to reflect the unique characters in our cheese."

Expect the first cheeses in autumn next year.