CHENNAI: Cheeseburgers, molten cheese sandwiches and cheese fries — anything with cheese has us drooling. This fat rich ooey gooey dairy product is loved by almost everyone. But, imagine cheese with less fat content… no longer a sinful delight. Dream come true, that is exactly what Namrata, founder of Kase, does.
Kase is an artisan cheese manufacturing company with 30 percent protein content. All ingredients they use are organic and no preservative is added. Namrata founded it along with the person behind Can Do (organisation for physically disabled) Anuradha Krishnamoorthy. It has a crew of five members from which three girls are from Can Do.
Today, they have more than 30 varieties of cheese from soft cream cheese to smoked mozzarella.
“It all started with my trip to Coonoor where I took part in a cheese making workshop. Since then, I read many books about dairy product and travelled places, tasting their special cheese,” Namrata said. She added that the company is named after German cheese called Kase, which is one of the first she served in Chennai.
The place caught the interest of the public after they added native tinges by dashing a pinch of molaga podi on the classical Cheddar. Named Ode to Chennai, it is adored by many..
About the challenges faced by Kase, Namrata told Deccan Chronicle that they had issues with finding grass-fed milk and the climate of Chennai did not support cheese making. Air-conditioned kitchens were set up to treat Chennaiites with the artisan cheese.
“Cheese molding has to be controlled for it to stay immortal. So, my idea was to add spices. As a result, today we have two customer favourites, charred leek cheese, smoked mint cheese,” she elaborated.
Kase would conduct workshops for children from June to promote artisan cheese.
Types of Cheese
- Ruby Feta - Cheese is blushed with beetroot juice and infused with flavors of roast garlic
- Ode to Chennai - Cheddar style cheese is encrusted with a flax seed and chilli podi by Green Peppers.
- Smoked Mozzarella with sun dried tomatoes and chilli - Sour dried tomatoes are paired with hot chilies to accompany mozzarella.
- Feta with Charred Leek - Leeks is smoked and the mild onion flavoured ash is infused in Feta.
