Morris Dancers and Braidwood Cantors at the Heritage Cider and Apple Day 2013
The Old Cheese Factory
THE OLD CHEESE FACTORY RIEDSDALE
Home Produce The Old Cheese Factory Venture Partnerships Sully's Cider House contact Us Links
Apple Trees For Sale

We have been finding, growing and sourcing rare apple trees, and have developed a collection of trees that will succeed in this region. We have cider, culinary and eating apple trees in the collection . Some of our trees are unique to the Braidwood district and are linked to the early settlers including Dr Thomas 'Braidwood' Wilson. The trees will be available as bare rooted maidens from mid June on.

If you are interested in growing rare heritage fruit trees, call 0407 292 181 or email appletrees@braidwoodmade.com.au

Courses & Workshops

Workshops

Bread Making
with Mat Hulse of the Farm Dojo
20th July 2013

Cheese Making
with Barry Lillywhite
27th & 28th July 2013

Coming Events

 

Newsletter

The Reidsdale Review
& Old Cheese Factory News

Newsletter PDF Downloads:.

December 2012 -
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January 2012 -
[Low Res 378KB] [High Res 1820KB]

November 2011 -
[Low Res 248KB] [High Res 1939KB]

October 2011-
[Low Res 390KB] [High Res 1552KB]

award

Championing Cultural Distinctiveness and Celebrating Seasonality

Cider -The Rough And The Smooth

Only a couple of presses left and we have finished this season’s apples. It is always a mixture of relief and sadness at the end of each season. However, no time to rest as we will soon be grafting and planting apple trees for future orchards.

Meanwhile, we have been busy bottling and have a wide range of products available. ‘Rough Stuff Scrumpy’ and Sully’s Methode Traditionelle, in particular, highlight how diverse craft cider can be.

The scrumpy is our unique take on the farmhouse ciders of the West Country of Britain. It is traditional cider made with the late season windfalls. It is natural, unfiltered and made with the minimum of techniques. The result is indeed a bucolic with many rough edges. As cider makers this is not a style that we aspire to, but we have included it in our repertoire out of nostalgia and to appease the weight of requests for a cider that is cutthroat and muddy, like the one they were offered in that remote country inn, 20 years ago or more.

On the other hand, our Methode Traditionelle cider is a different kettle of fish. It has been processed and refined using a variety of processes and techniques to create a highly refined sparkling cider to match the finest wine. A mixture of feral and early season cider apples are blended to produce a juice that is higher in acid and lower in sugar that our mid season ciders. The juice is then fermented out to dryness and conditioned for twelve months in oak barrels. Then comes the time consuming process of methode traditionelle, which requires a secondary fermentation in a strong glass bottle. When bottling the cider champagne yeast is added along with a prescribed dose of sugar. The bottle is then crown capped and allowed to ferment. As soon as the fermentation has finished the bottles are stacked upside down and are given one quarter of a turn each day for six months. Little by little the spent yeast sediment is riddled to the crown cap. Now comes the tricky bit when the sediment is disgorged from the bottle. The neck is frozen to around -20C using a mixture of ice and salt. Too little freezing and the yeast plug will not stick to the cap and half of the bottle is lost on disgorgement. Too much and the sediment stays in the bottle and a dribble of cider slushy oozes out. However, when you get it right the cap is removed and the sediment pops out as a solid plug leaving the cider in the bottle clear and sparkling. The bottle is topped up and a cork and basket fitted. This cider is closer to a fine champagne than the sweet carbonated commercial ciders available today     

 

Reidsdale's Faeries
Celebrated at the
Winter Soltice Lunch
Sat & Sun 22nd &23rd June.

Faerie tree

The shortest day or Yule arrives this Friday and we have decided to celebrate it with a winter solstice lunch. Of cause, we had to include the Reidsdale Faeries from nearby Monga Lane. Tim the Yowie Man will have an story on the Reidsdale Faeries in this Saturday's Canberra times. So keep an eye out. For the faeries and the story!

For the weekend we have designed a menu fit for a druid and have included some sacred herbs and spices that may help with finding the faeries.

Both the mulled cider and the Reidsdale mutton pies will have a sprinkle of mace. A herb thought by the Celts to increase psychic powers. Also on the menu is Champ, an Irish bubble and squeak that was traditionally left under a hawthorn tree as an offering for the faeries and for the weekend we will build a small shrine under our very own hawthorn tree. Visitors will be able to purchase faerie cakes. Not any old kids party cup cake, but real faerie cakes with magical properties that enable you to see faeries. They also are believed to work as a fertility charm and heal the sick.

Faerie Mushroom

Faerie Cake Recipe

1 stick of butter
2/3 cup of sugar
2 eggs beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated rind of an orange
3/4 tablespoon of baking powder
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of milk
1/3 cup of sultanas

Sugar icing
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of boiling water

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and orange rind. Sieve the flour and baking powder together and add to the butter mix.Add milk and turn into a batter of dropping consistency. Fold in the sultanas and spoon into well greased muffin cups. Bake at 190C for 25 minutes. Drizzle on icing and serve.

Don't eat too many, or the goblins may come!

 

The Local Produce Shop &
Sully's Cidery @
The Old Cheese Factory

Cellar Door Tasting
Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
10am to 3pm. Also open by appointment.
Call 02 4846 1999 or 0407 292 181.

Lunch is available Saturday and Sunday 11am to 2.30pm

Our menu changes weekly and is designed to compliment our cider. We offer dishes from the traditional cider regions and food matched to the produce made at the Old Cheese Factory. We support local producers and throughout the year may include such delicacies as local pork, lamb, beef and poultry often braised in our own cider. Braidwood Butchery cured meats, as well as our own pickles and Dojo bread. Our local and seasonal fare always includes a vegetarian option.

Winter Lunch Menu Schedule

15th & 16th June 2013
Zarzuela weekend

A rich Spanish seafood stew named after the wonderfully eclectic Spanish lyric-drama.

22nd & 23rd June 2013
Winter Solstice Lunch

A menu of Druid inspired food.
Sunday 23rd - Indoor seating fully booked. Covered outdoor seating available

29th & 30th June 2013
Apfel Most & Onion Tart

Celebrate the end of the apple season with this distinctively German tradition.

6th & 7th August 2013
American Independence Weekend

Celebrate independence day with Jonny Appleseed's apple pie.

13th & 14th July 2013
Bastille Weekend

Celebrate Basle Day with a French inspired lunch
20th & 21st July
Welsh Winter Fare

Traditional Welsh winter food.
Saturday 20th - Indoor seating fully booked. Covered outdoor seating available
27th & 28th July 2013
Local Produce BBQ

Hawker style food from the grill
Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st - Indoor seating fully booked. Covered outdoor seating available
3rd & 4th August 2013
French Seafood & Cider Weekend
10th & 11th August 2013
Spanish Espichas

Celebration of the new season cider

17th & 18th August 2013
Devonshire Lunch

A traditional Devonshire inspired lunch

Booking is recommended
For bookings Call The Old Cheese Factory
02 4846 1999 or 0407 292 181

© Reidsdale Rural Enterprises 2008
The Old Cheese Factory, 92 Sawyers Ridge Road, Reidsdale, NSW 2622. (T) 02 4846 1999 (M) 0407 292 181

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