I took a Cheese Making Job in Mongolia and moved there in February of 2019. It was cold and dry when I landed in Ulaan Baatar and got a ride out to the White Mountain Cheese Plant where I would be living in a traditional Mongolian dwelling called a Ger, more commonly known by the Russian name yurt. I was working for a small company called the Mongolian Artisan Cheesemakers Union that is attempting to build a network of small plants around the country to use the large quantities of milk produced every summer when the vast grasslands are used as pasture for goats, sheep, cows, camels, yaks, and horses. The country has incredible traditional fermented dairy products that I got to taste, and an ancient way of life has been preserved here, although things are changing rapidly. Formerly collectively managed grasslands are being degraded as people take on larger herds of cashmere goats, and climate change is affecting the country severely.
I jumped right in to managing this small cheese plant and production of pasteurized bloomy and washed rinds, blues, natural rinds, and fresh cheeses. I had the most freedom I ever had to develop recipes, experiment with cultures, and make try out cheeses I have never made before such as Halloumi, Oaxacan, and Caciocavallo. More and more I appreciate basic utilitarian creamy fresh melting/snacking cheeses. As much as I love making and aging the moldy hunks, I will use more of these fresh cheeses on a daily basis.
It was definetly an amazing experience and my first cheese making gig outside the US. I now have vision of traveling to explore and document traditional dairy fermentation while teaching cheese making and seeing if I can be of assistance groups trying to maintain traditional herding lifestyles. I want to put the skills and knowledge I have to use for something more, to do work that has a economic and environmental justice aspect to it.
