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The cattle yard in the morning, seen from inside the shed, with the cows beyond the gate

From the yard to the shelf

From the yardto the board

The cheese passes through our hands from the first step to the last. Here is each one.

Milking at 5 a.m. and 4 p.m.Jersey cowsRaw milkPingo from the day beforeAged at least 14 days

How we make it

A Canastra tradition, made here

Canastra artisan Minas cheese has been made the same way for generations in the region: raw milk, pingo, rennet, hand work and ageing on wooden boards. In 2024, São João Batista do Glória became part of the Canastra Geographical Indication, and our cheese could finally be called by its name.

We learned the craft from people who already did it: in the Good Practices course, with Ivair and Lúcia, and with Roberto, a master cheesemaker. The eight steps below are the path the milk takes here every day, from the yard to the ageing board.

A fresh cheese just out of the mould, shown inside the dairy

Step by step

Eight steps and no hurry

  1. The cows arrive

    The cows come into the yard twice a day, at 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. The first milking starts before sunrise; the second, in the middle of the afternoon. The herd is Jersey, a dairy breed with more fat and protein.

  2. Each in her place

    Before starting, we settle the cows calmly, each in her place. Cleaning of the milking area follows a fixed schedule, with a record of every sanitising for inspection.

  3. Milking parlour aisle with blue rails and a concrete floor, under a metal roof and wooden beams

    The milking

    The milk leaves the milking and goes straight to the dairy. It is not pasteurised: artisan Minas cheese is made with raw milk, and that milk is where the flavour of the region comes from.

  4. A hand holds a white ladle over milk in a steel vat, the surface still smooth

    From yard to tank

    A hose carries the milk to the dairy tank. The tanks go through sanitising, and each one is recorded with a photo.

  5. The test

    Before it becomes cheese, the milk is tested: pH, temperature, coliforms and whatever else the law requires for the seal. Each batch is recorded with date, quantity and destination.

  6. Smooth white curdled milk in a steel vat, seen from above, before the curd is cut

    Pingo and rennet

    In go the pingo, the natural starter from the previous day's whey, and the rennet. The pingo carries from one day to the next the microorganisms that give the Canastra its flavour. In 30 minutes, the milk sets.

  7. Curd cut into regular cubes inside the vat, with a white spatula beside it

    Cutting and salting

    The set curd is cut, stirred and put into the moulds. Then comes the salt. This is the part of the work that depends most on the hand: the point of the cut and of the pressing is learned by doing.

  8. A whole pale-rind cheese on a wooden table, with other wheels behind it in the ageing room

    Ageing

    The cheese goes to the boards of the ageing room and moves from board to board as it ripens: at least 14 days, and over 90 for the long-aged ones. When it is ready, it gets its seal and leaves the dairy.

The milk

Two milkings a day

The cows at the quintal are Jerseys, a breed known for milk with more fat and protein. Milking happens at 5 a.m. and 4 p.m., and the milk goes straight to the dairy.

The same milk becomes cheese and, on Mondays, doce de leite. Everything that leaves the dairy goes through the production record: batch, temperature, pH and destination, so that every wheel can be traced back to the day it was made.

Jersey cows feeding at the trough, in a row

Come to the backyard

Come and seeup close

Milking and cheesemaking are open to visitors. Just arrive and arrange it with the dairy.

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