Shizuoka Dairy Products

Shizuoka & Other Prefecture Products Ice Creams in Fuji City!

(Courtesy of Shizuoka Shinbun Daily Newspaper)

I found an interesting piece of news in our Prefecture daily, The Shizuoka Shinbun (700,000 copies) this morning!

An ice-making company in Fuji City, Shunsai Yuzuan (President: Tuyoshi Saitoh) struck on the idea to create a “private” brand of ice creams to promote the famous products of Shizuoka Prefecture and neighbouring Prefectures after being asked by Touristic Parks and Resorts to help!

The ice cream come in cups of two different volumes: 80 cc and 120 cc. The 80 cc cups will come into 96 flavours whereas the 120 cc cups will introduce 72 flavours.

The price will range between 170 and 250 yen apiece.

As for the flavours, they will come from natural sources ranging from salt gathered in Heda and strawberries harvested in Izu to persimmons grown in Nagano Prefecture from more than 10 farms.

Great fun for gourmets and collectors!
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GIGIO: Smoked Cheese

The other day, as I was looking around the supermarket in Kakegawa JR Station, my eyes fell on some cheeses displayed in the refigerated area. As I know that this particular establishment sells solely Shizuoka products I decided to investigate.
I thus discovered a company called Gigio in Hamamatsu City. Upon investigation it turned out to be an Italian Restaurant whose chef makes his own cheese!

Out of its airtght packaging their smoked cheese comes with a nice dark nut colour and an appetizing aroma typical of a smoked cheese.

It also has the merit not to be encased in one of those obnoxious wax casing you have to fight your way through.
It cuts easily in spite of its tenderness, and can be served with salads or other cheese and pickles for example.
It makes for a great morsel with beer as its taste marries really well with the tangy flavour of hops.
I did not try, but next time I shall experiment with pizza or toast or even gratineed vegetables!

Gigio
Hamamatsu City, Naka Ku, Takaoka Kita, 1-48-18
Tel.: 053-4383994
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
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Fuji Milk Land/O-Sashimi Cheese

This is the second cheese variety by Fuji Milk Land Co in Fujinomiya City.
The name “O-Sashimi” means that they suggest it to be eaten like Sashimi!

Actually it is easy to cut either into thick or thin slices.
It does go well with soy sauce, and even with a little dash of wasabi.
I also found it tasty on top of a salad, on toasts and of course on pizza. Easy to eat for children, too as salt contents are low, but as an adult makes a perfect snack with beer!

Fuji Milk Land
Milk Land Co. Ltd.
Fujinomiya City, Kami Ide 3690
Tel.: 0544-54-3690
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SHIZUOKA CHEESE: ASAGIRI STRIPE CHEESE

“Stripe Cheese”, or “sakeru cheese” in Japanese, is a very popular snack in this country.
I have already described one made by Oratche in Kannami.
This one produced by Fuji Milk Land, Milk Land Co. Ltd. in Fujinomiya City on the slopes of Mount Fuji is slightly different.

I would definitely suggest friends to eat it along with a beer as it bites and chews well. The right amount (little in fact) of salt makes it safe to consume aplenty. And it’s fun to see how thin ou can stripe it down!

Fuji Milk Land
Milk Land Co. Ltd.
Fujinomiya City, Kami Ide 3690
Tel.: 0544-54-3690
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ORATCHE: an ecological symbiosis

In 1997, when Mr. Shimono came all the way from Tokyo to Kannami, near Mishima City, he surely had a grand idea: not only he wanted to create his own bio dairy products and beer, but he also knew how to develop it to contribute to a better environment and cooperation with locals.
He certainly needed a lot of courage to achieve his goals: Kannami is far away from urban life regardless of the great numbers of Tokyoites-owned villas sprouting all over a nearby mountain. At the time he arrived there, the land was poor and grew little but oranges due to its exposure to cold winds in winter and searing heat in summer. Oratche’s beer was not called “Wind Valley Beer” because it sounded good, but because it was a fact of life!
I had already written a few articles about their surprisingly good cheeses when I met their young business department executive, Mr. Nishimura, by pure chance in Isetan Department Store in Shizuoka City. The gentleman most readily assented when I asked him if I may visit and investigate his company. He went as far as picking me up at the station, about ten minutes away from his establishment.

Oratche is a multiple-purpose company as they include a large shop, a dairy classroom for kids, an attraction park with rabbits, goats and ponies.

Local farmers have their own space where they can sell their own bio vegetables to visitors. Oratche had a good idea to recycle the refuse from the many cows they keep for milk and calves they raise for meat. They just give it to the local farmers who can use it as biological fertiliser!

They certainly never run out of it, I can tell you, as everything is well planned and quickly disposed of! They grow their own corn for feed combined with hay directly imported from the States. Knowing the Japanese Customs’ pickiness, I do not harbour any worry about its quality!

Now, their beer was a discovery!

I was lucky to come just after the new batch was finished. It was Sunday, and the beer brewery was on holiday, but they opened for my sole person and was offered a premium taste of three beers (see boards above. I had to decline the others, as I did not trust myself! Lucky I don’t drive!)
Great beer, seven of them, unfiltered and organic, with a very creamy foam. Wait until I report on the bottles I brought back home!

Before taking my leave, the company graciously offered me lunch at their restaurant where most ingedients are local. The enormous chicken side I chose is from Mishima, and the vegetables from local farmers. The carrots were so sweet!

Do look at their homepage, ven if it in Japanese (they are planning to start a blog soon), and you will see their wealth of products: milk, cream, butter, cheese,yoghurt, ice-creams, fruit juices, jams, cakes and beer!

I’m planning on more visits. If you are interested, do join me!

ORATCHE
419-0105 Shizuoka Ken, Tagat Gun, Tanna, 349-1
Tel.: 055-974-4192
Fax: 055-974-4191
Business hours: 10:00~18:00 (week days), 10:00~20:00 (Sat., Sun. and National Holidays)
Free car park.
HOMEPAGE

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Minami Hakone Gouda

This is the third cheese variety from Oratche Co in Tagata Gun (vegetarians and health-conscious friends like Lindsay at DeLuscious Life, rejoice again!) I have recently found. I will actually travel to Kannami on March 2nd to interview them as they also have a great beer brewery!

Extremely clean and tasty cheese with the right amount of salt. Reminiscent of a young Gouda from Holland. I really appreciated it with wine and beer.
As the other two cheeses I have already surveyed, thay are made with milk from cows raised in altitude near Mount Fuji, where they graze natural grass and are fed with real non-transgenic cereals.

Minami Hakone no Sakeru Cheese
Oratche Co.
Tagata Gun, Kannami Cho, Tanna, 349-1
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Minami Hakone Sakeru Cheese

This is the second cheese from Oratche Co in Tagata Gun (I have a third one to introduce, so vegetarians and health-conscious friends like Lindsay at DeLuscious Life, rejoice!).
The name “Sakeru Cheeze” means “Cheese to be split”.

As its name indicates, it is easy to split, shred or cut in very thin strips, allowing it to be added to all kinds of salads, and even, Allison at Sushi Day will be happy to learn, added in nice combinations inside sushi rolls.
Very light texture. Pleasant to eat. In my case I eat it with a glass of sake or beer.

Minami Hakone no Sakeru Cheese
Oratche Co.
Tagata Gun, Kannami Cho, Tanna, 349-1
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
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Shizuoka Cheeses: Minami Hakone Mozzarella

Shizuoka Prefecture does come with pleasing surprises, indeed!
Not only are we supplied uncountable kinds of marine and agricultural products, including even meat, some companies have for some time manufactured remarkable dairy products.
One of these, Oratche in Tagata Gun, has been noticed for creating cheese with local milk, including mozarella cheese.

This is definitely a bonafide for vegetarians and lovers of good food as they can trace it back to its very origin, instead of relying on importers’ information.
This particular mozzarella has the great merit to be firm, making it easy to cut, arrange and present. It is tastier than a lot of bland items I was brought to sample in this country, and so easy to adapt into salads, sandwiches and panini.
I definetely plan to fill zucchini/courgettes flowers with it in season before deep-frying, or steam them and serve them with cream-mushroom sauce! I’m pretty sure that Lindsay at DeLuscious Life is expecting the recipe!