From insect dye to floral flavors: Cheese innovation round-up

Take Dutch cheese wholesaler Van der Heiden Kaas BV, who highlighted a range of Dutch cheese, including the Dilano Black Lemon. This black-coloured semi-hard cheese is enriched with vitamin D and ‘blackened’ with a touch of charcoal; a nod to the ‘blackened’ food trend, according to the company. But why this particular combination of flavor, color and functionality, we asked the wholesaler’s Lucas Heijboer.

“Because you stopped and looked,” he told us. “So it works, as a cheese that would grab one’s attention. It is unusual both in looks and flavor and makes for an interesting addition to a cheeseboard. But really, it’s not a cheese we expect people to buy week in, week out – it’s something to surprise and excite, rather than an every-day cheese. But equally, it’s a cheese that can attract new buyers – and to our more traditional offerings.”

The company stocks a range of Dutch premium cheese, including rich and creamy varieties from Northern Holland such as the Roemer Sweet. Much of the company’s business is focused on export – but as Heijboer told us, there’s still consumer perception barriers abroad where Dutch cheese is treated as a delicacy rather than an everyday food.

Spice is perhaps a more traditional pairing for cheese, but perhaps less so when the heat comes from ginger. This is the case for Veldhuyzen Kaas’ Basiron Spicy Ginger offering, which was a SIAL 2024 Innovation contender, and Doppio: one part young gouda, one part mild goat cheese and one part coffee, as the company explained. Another flavor that caught our attention was Basiron Pickle, which contains real bits of pickle.

Yet another cheese supplier from the Netherlands, Vandersterre highlighted a range of sweet and floral gouda – from Boer’n Trots Apple Pie to the new Cookies and Cream and elderflower-infused gouda from Landana. These were all exhibited alongside the company’s core offering of Landana Jersey cow’s milk gouda and the Prima Donna cheese brand, a gouda and parmesan hybrid.

Betting on color rather than taste, Swiss cheese specialist Mifroma told us it’s using a natural ingredient to make its new seasonal semi-hard cheese pink. The ingredient? Red dye from cochineal insects. The ingredient was sourced from China, we were told.

According to Britannica, cochineal has been replaced almost entirely by synthetic dyes but is still used today as a coloring agent in cosmetics and beverages.

Back on the show floow, Mifroma also highlighted its Blumenkäse, a 6-month matured Swiss cheese made from locally-sourced milk and adorn with dried marigold, blueberry and rose blossoms on the crust.