NO REFRIGERATION REQUIRED!!

If you have been looking to add REAL cheese (not powdered or Freeze Dried) to your long term food storage program, than look no further!

GREAT FOR CAMPING!

PERFECT FOR THE BOAT OR RV!

10 TO 15 YEAR SHELF LIFE MINIMUM!!

For years we've had people ask us about real, shelf-stable, storable cheese, and we've had to turn them away. Now you can have a great tasting, rich, high-quality cheese . . . and who cares if the electricity goes off??

For those of you familiar with the Kraft canned cheese we carried for a couple of years, you will be real happy with this new cheese from Bega, which we have now private labeled under our Red Feather name - also made in Australia. Although the Kraft cheese is called cheddar too, most of our customers say it reminds them more of a white American cheese than a cheddar.



Bega Cheese, who has actually been making cheese and only cheese much longer than Kraft - since 1899, has found a way to make a real cheese in a can with the same indefinitely shelf life taste much better than the Kraft cheese (see below for more on the company and the production of this great product). Produced in a can and sold in Australia for more than 50 years, Bega is a household name in many parts of the world. You’ll first notice that it is yellow like a cheddar cheese should be. Second, you’ll be pleased with the sharper cheddar flavor. And lastly, you’ll find that the texture is better too - easier to cut, grate and slice than the Kraft, which tends to crumble when you try to cut it thin.

Most importantly, because Kraft is moving their production facility to Saudi Arabia instead of Australia, the Kraft cheese will become much more expensive in the coming months. But since we can use our extra dairy quota left over from the Red Feather Canned Butter that we already import, we’re able to deliver the Bega Cheese under the our Red Feather Brand name to you for a much lower price! Give some a try - you will be pleased, we guarantee it. If you are not happy with it, we will gladly refund 100% of your purchase price.

Not available in any store in this Country - only available online!

One product that has always been missing from food storage programs is been real CHEESE. It's true that, if you have a wine cellar, you can buy a waxed wheel of cheese and store it (i.e. age it) for years. That's a bit expensive and unwieldy, but if you are doing well enough to own a wine cellar, you probably can afford a 50 lb wheel of cheese - and you won't mind throwing about half of it away when it molds over after you cut it open.

For those of us with more modest means, we now have real Bega® /Red Feather Cheddar Cheese - in a can!!! Its technical name is "Processed Cheddar Cheese." That’s that name they have to give it legally because it wasn't "naturally" produced by a Wisconsin cheese master. But from the ingredients and from the TASTE, you'll believe it is honest-to-Goodness real Wisconsin-made cheese! Make no mistake, this isn’t liquid or semi-solid cheese - it is real cheddar cheese like you would expect to find in a deli case at your local grocery store.

It's just plain delicious.

Powdered and Freeze Dried cheese products have been available for years, and they are actually not too bad for some applications. They make an excellent sauce, dip or spread, but there’s just something not right about spreading cheese on your sandwich like it was peanut butter. For some things, there is no substitute for the real thing...

Each can contains 226 grams (7.97 Ounces) of Cheese, and the cans are a little larger in diameter than a 6 oz. can of tuna and about 25% taller.



We’ve leaned that the best way to serve it is if you open both ends of the can and then push out the 3 1/4" x 1 3/4" mini-wheel of cheese. You’ll find that it doesn’t sag, it doesn't quiver and it doesn't run – it is solid cheese!

This is real cheese that can be grated like any other cheese. It melts, it can be sliced into thin slices for sandwiches, pizzas, lasagna or meat loaf, and it behaves just like any other deli-bought cheese – it’s great for grilled cheese sandwiches, fantastic omelets or just by the slice.

Because we bring this in by the container about every 45 days with the Canned Butter, you’ll always be guaranteed to receive fresh product any time you order. Bega / Red Feather Cheese complies completely with both FDA and USDA requirements and is even Hala certified. This cheese has no expiration date according to the spec provided by Bega and will store for many years. No one is sure for exactly how many - they've never tested it just for longevity. It's packaged this way in Australia and in the Middle East for folks who don't have refrigeration, like many in the outback or in third world countries. The manufacturer is confident it will last "indefinitely". Since it's in a sterile environment, air can't circulate so germs can't get to it - there's no reason that it can't store indefinitely. Just keep it as cool as you can , but protect it from freezing as with any other cheese. Once you open a can, it's best to refrigerate any leftovers, though it will most likely last a few more days in a zipper-locking baggie or tinfoil without refrigeration.

Also sold in quantities of 6 cans flats, 12 can flats and full cases of 36 cans.



Imported from Australia


BEGA FACTORY TOUR

Making Cheddar Cheese

Stage 1

Raw milk is pasteurized to destroy harmful bacteria, then pumped into the cheese vats. There are eight vats, each holding 18,000 litres. By the time the eighth vat is full, the first one has been emptied and is ready to be filled again.



Specific lactic acid bacteria are added to each vat of milk to produce the characteristic flavour in the final cheese. The coagulating enzyme, rennet, is also added. A curd is formed as the milk sets into junket. This curd is then cut into small particles to release the whey.

The curd and whey in the vat are agitated constantly and heated slowly to 37ºC to encourage shrinkage of the curd and to expel more moisture. After 2½ hours the slurry of curd and whey is pumped from the vat across to the Alfomatic.


Stage 2

Upon entering the Alfomatic, the whey is drained from the curd and the curd is aggregated onto a continuous belt. During the two hours necessary to travel through the Alfomatic, the curd is cheddared, milled, salted and mellowed.



In the process of cheddaring, the small curd particles fuse together to form one big block of cheese. This provides the textural characteristic of the cheese.

Then the cheese is milled to enable even salt penetration throughout. The pieces of milled curd look like potato chips. They have a cross-section of two centimetres square, and are variable in length.

Next, a measured amount of salt is mixed with the curd. The curd is then mellowed for 20 minutes to allow the salt to penetrate. The salted curd is sucked by a vacuum from the Alfomatic to the block-forming towers.



The cheese curd is in the block-forming tower for 35 minutes. In the tower, the cheese is compressed under its own weight while a vacuum is applied. At the bottom of the tower, 20kg blocks are pushed out into plastic bags, then checked, weighed and vacuum-sealed.

The sealed bags are packed into cardboard boxes and stacked onto pallets.


Stage 3

The cheese is cooled to 8ºC and stored at that temperature until maturity. The length of time in storage determines the strength of flavour in the cheese. Mild cheese is matured for three months, Tasty cheese for up to nine months and Vintage cheese for 15 to 24 months.


Processing, Cutting and Packaging

To meet ever-increasing demand for Bega cheeses, in 1998 Bega Cheese invested $25 million in the installation of a new Processing, Cutting and Packaging Plant.

The new plant was designed to service an increasing export market in addition to existing local markets. At full capacity, it is envisaged that two thirds of product will go off-shore. It has also been a major boost for the local economy.



For export markets the Bega brand can be cut and packed to specific market labelling requirements. Some customers may want their own proprietary branding or private label on cheddar and processed cheese products. Bega Cheese is also able to service major industrial and food service contracts including burger slices, portion control, government and other similar contracts.

The plant is constructed to the highest standard and is the first food plant in Australia to operate at pharmaceutical grade hygiene standard. The plant is equal to the best in the world in terms of capacity, hygiene and internal atmospheric control.



The processing plant includes two lines for individually wrapped processed cheese slices and one for non-individually wrapped sliced caterers' packs. The Quality Assurance System includes cheese grading, check weighing and metal detection in the packing lines.

The cutting and packaging equipment for natural cheeses includes a vacuum packaging line, a Cryovac shrink tunnel and a bag loader for 1kg, 2.5kg and 10kg blocks. There are two flow wrap gas flush lines for 250g, 500g, 750g and 1kg blocks, and a Multivac portion line which also handles Bega Stringers.

These lines can handle contract specifications and alternative weight packs. Bega Cheese now has the potential to manufacture and distribute 18,000 tonnes of natural cheese and 12,000 tonnes of processed cheese each year.


Individually Wrapped Slices

Stage 1

Cheese, butter, cream and other ingredients are blended and delivered into the Auger trough, and from there to the cooker. A metering hopper measures exact amounts of heated cheese to be delivered to the Individually Wrapped Slice extruder. Here, the hot cheese is wrapped in a continuous ribbon of plastic film.



Stage 2

The ribbon of Bega processed cheese is passed through a chilled water bath. Next, it passes through a series of heat crimpers and anvils, which produce a strip of wrapped slices. The strip is then cut into individually wrapped slices.


The Bega Family;

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