June 26. Day 176. Say cheese

It pains me to say so, but it turns out The Wiggles are not always right (Here I am not talking about the incident of the "salaried Wiggle" Sam Moran being dumped in favour of founding member Greg Page).
No, according to The Wiggles in their song Talking Cow they tell children "Camels' milk won't curdle. There's no camels' cheese."
Turns out that's a big, fat lie. I know this because I tasted camel haloumi and camel cheddar, camel feta and fromage blanc - and it was not only delicious it was locally produced. So how did The Wiggles get it so wrong? In fairness it is not so much a lie as out of date information. Camel's milk has less fat and lactose than cow's milk so it is notoriously difficult to turn into cheese, especially cheddar. But the creative brains of Summer Land Camels  in the Scenic Rim and Pure Artisan Cheese in Mount Tamborine cracked the code. They admit their initial efforts didn't turn out well (much like the ill-fated Yellow Wiggle handover) but they didn't give up and the proof of the cheese is in the tasting. And the good news is for those with dodgy tummies, the very thing that makes camel milk difficult to turn into cheese is what makes it so attractive.
That low fat/low lactose combination may be the foe of the cheese maker but it is the friend of all those with a problem tolerating cows' milk. That's enough to have everyone smiling. Say "cheese".