Every day, 80-year-old Philippa Abela wakes before the sun rises to make her cheese.
She heads out to the milking shed on her property that is tucked among sugarcane fields at Habana, near Mackay in North Queensland.
When she arrives at the shed’s gate, Meg, a Jersey-Swiss Brown cross cow, eagerly greets her.
“You’ve got to keep out of her way because she runs in,” Mrs Abela laughs.
Loading…
The whirring of the milking machine cuts through the early morning bird song, and with only two milking cows, she is normally done by 6:30am.
It is then time to stir rennet into the warm milk to form solid curds and liquid whey.
Philippa Abela milks each morning at around 6:30am. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
Carrying on traditions
Mrs Abela’s family came to Australia from Malta in 1950 to escape a post-war depression.
Her “courageous” mother brought four girls under the age of five after her father arrived in Australia six months earlier.
The family purchased a cane farm in Habana and kept dairy cows to supply milk to the local butter factory.
“It was a hard life, but a good life,” she says.
Philippa Abela lives in Habana, a suburb north of Mackay. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
Using cow’s milk, Mrs Abela’s mother taught her how to make cheese that would have been a staple from sheep’s milk back home — soft ricotta-like cheese for pastizzis and a firm, vinegar-pickled pepper cheese.
Mrs Abela has since perfected about 13 types of cheese, but in Habana, with its strong Maltese roots, the original two are crowd favourites.
“I’ve got friends who I’ve been supplying for a long time,” she says.
“One year, I made about 90 kilos [of pepper cheese].
“If there’s a street party, and you go without, it’s ‘where’s the pastizzis?'”
Loading’Never stop learning’
Mrs Abela says the best cheese needs a well-fed cow that lives a relaxed life.
The next important step is having clean equipment and precise temperature control for cheeses that require heating.
“Each cheese has its own process; you never stop learning,” she says.
Once rennet is added, the milk separates into curds and whey. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
Mrs Abela makes a basic fresh cheese by straining the whey after stirring it carefully and meticulously watching the temperature for about 30 minutes.
The remaining curds are then ready to eat or used in cooking.
Some days she will make other types of cheese, such as halloumi and mozzarella, by adding cultures to the whey, which is then heated, pressed, dried or aged depending on the desired product.
Philippa said she gets around 10 litres of milk a day from her milking. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
Mrs Abela has passed down her knowledge of cheese-making to family and occasionally runs classes for eager students in the community.
She says more people are becoming interested in her slow, natural way of cheesemaking.
“The old ways are becoming more popular again,” she said.
Meg, a Jersey-Swiss Brown cross. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
Shift from ‘convenience generation’
A supplier of cheese-making ingredients and equipment says there is a growing interest as consumers embrace slow food trends and become weary of fast-paced ‘convenience culture’.
Michael Zannella, the general manager of Cheeselinks, says the retail side of his business, which supplies hobbyists and small farmers, has grown more than 200 per cent in the past few years.
Philippa Abela makes a variety of different cheeses. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
Mr Zannella says he is noticing a generational shift among younger customers who value artisan production.
“The craftsmanship and the story behind what you’re consuming … that is more important now than ever,” he says.
“My parents never considered those sorts of things. I think we maybe had a convenience generation.
“The microwave was popular. It was about how convenient can we make our meals?”
Philippa flips the molded cheese to drain as much whey as possible before they set. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
A lifelong ritual
Mrs Abela and her late husband stopped commercial dairying about 30 years ago when the market was deregulated.
Since his death two years ago, she is busier than ever, feeding a dozen or so beef cattle, mowing, and weeding.
Retaining a couple of milkers allows cheesemaking to continue to be an important part of her life.
Philippa Abela, 80yr old cheesemaker. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)
“I think you’ve got to contribute to society, you can’t stay idle. I don’t know what idle is.”
And while she doesn’t sell her cheese commercially, she says it is always in demand from friends and family.
“I also thought, ‘I don’t want to be milking the rest of my life’, but here I am at the age of 80, still milking,” she laughs.