Award-winning Goat's Cheese From Clarens

After teaching herself cheesemaking, Estee van Aswegen entered her Baris cheeses at the South African Dairy Championships and won top of class.

- Annelie Coleman

Estee van Aswegen says it was her search for an alternative income stream on the family farm, Baris, near Clarens, that led her to cheesemaking about three years ago.

“I still don’t know why I decided on dairy goats, of all things. But I made my decision and the next thing I knew, my mum, Minda, and I were on a goat-purchasing road trip to De Rust,” she says.

“We returned with five goats, and here we are today with a herd of 50 dairy goats and an up-and-coming cheesery.”

Baris farm is situated 10km from Clarens, in the picturesque eastern Free State.

Van Aswegen says the trickiest part of the business was learning to make the cheese and sourcing the right equipment and ingredients. “I read up on everything about goat’s milk, and invested in the best equipment I could afford. It called for a lot of research, talking to people in the know, and learning from my own mistakes.”

The artisanal Baris cheeses are sold at the farm’s deli and restaurant, Baris Monger. She also supplies the Cheese Gourmet in Linden, Johannesburg.

The Baris range consists of eight cheeses, including Camembert, Brie, feta, halloumi and the award-winning Vliedermaus, judged top of its class in 2018 and 2019 at the South African Dairy Championships.

It was named after the family’s beloved black Staffordshire bull terrier. Van Aswegen describes it as a rich, soft, creamy, ashed, bloomy rind cheese that is bold in flavour.

The Baris Camembert was awarded second place this year and a third place last year in the category for goat’s milk bloomy rind cheese, with or without condiments. It has a buttery yet milky taste, and she says it makes a superb baked Camembert.