Sponsored by California Milk Advisory Board
Celebrity chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger are known for the Southern California-inspired Mexican food served at their restaurants. And when discussing the ingredients that spark creative ideas for their menus, they regularly point to Hispanic-style cheeses from California.
Milliken describes them as “mild to sharp, gooey to hard and with a range of flavors that pack a ton of irresistible umami flavor.” That grasp of those cheeses’ mouthwatering impact helps them create dishes like Vampiro Tacos (more on them later), fried cheese “croutons” for a kale Caesar salad, and Impossible meatballs stuffed with California manchego, cotija and panela cheeses.
But those aren’t the only reasons why Milliken and Feniger choose these cheeses. They source them because of their personal commitment to sustainable dairy farming.
“We like to support California dairy farmers who are stewards of the Earth and prioritize sustainable food systems,” said Milliken. “Our employees and our guests have come to expect that we’re choosing those products conscientiously.”
Finding sustainably produced ingredients that are also delicious can be challenging for chefs. A little research is often required to ensure product claims are honored by their makers. When it comes to California cheeses, that’s easy.
Happy cows, healthy planet
For more than a century, California’s dairy industry has produced some of the nation’s finest milk. And for over five decades, it’s increasingly focused on improving how it cares for its cows, the land on which they live and reducing the impact of dairy production on the environment. Those efforts have yielded tremendous changes in land use, water use, methane gas reduction and a reduction of the industry’s carbon footprint. For example:
- About 40 percent of a California dairy cow’s diet consists of byproducts from food and fiber production like almond hulls, grape pomace, cottonseed and tomato pulp. Not only can cows upcycle those byproducts into quality feed, they are diverted from the landfill. This also reduces the amount of water required for growing additional cattle feed by about 1.3 trillion gallons per year.
- And speaking of bovine digestion, capturing methane gas by biodigesting cow manure generates electricity and heat that can be used to operate a dairy. It also is converted to compressed natural gas and vehicle fuel. According to the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), “cow power” created by biodigesters leads to greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to taking 1 million cars off the road for one year.
- Over the past 50-plus years, the California dairy industry has reduced its carbon footprint by 45 percent—and is one of the world’s lowest.
- In a state dependent on water flowing from neighboring states, managing that supply judiciously is crucial. The amount of water now required to produce one gallon of California milk has plummeted more than 88 percent since the 1970s. California dairy farmers further conserve this precious liquid by using and reusing it up to four times in their operations.
A versatile palette of cheeses
According to Milliken, the “great variety of California cheeses in my refrigerator inspires me to create new ways to incorporate cheese into my dishes.” And with 250 cheese options made by California producers, she isn’t short on ideas.
Feniger’s cheese decisions start with texture—how a particular cheese melts and chews—and then its flavors—whether it’s firm and salty, or fresh and light.
“Often, I might add a salty cheese, like feta, to a salad that includes a sweet orange or peach,” Feniger said. Other times she “might add a fried cotija cheese ‘crouton’ dropped into hot oil to hold its shape and add texture and saltiness to the salad.”
For the chefs’ innovative Vampiro Tacos, they grate a signature cheese mix of California cotija, panela and manchego and place it directly on the hot comal to melt and caramelize. The resulting flavor is “smoky and irresistible,” Milliken said. As the cheese melts, a tortilla placed atop the melting cheese sticks to it. The purpose of this step is to create a delicious and moisture-resistant barrier between the tacos’ wet ingredients and the tortilla. You can watch this hack in action here, through the California Milk Advisory Board’s REAL Makers Campaign. These videos highlight chefs who prepare innovative menu items using California dairy in an interesting way.
Feniger described an Impossible meatball dish in which she sprinkles the meat substitute with cotija cheese like an Italian chef would apply Romano or Parmesan.
“We sprinkle our roasted cauliflower dish with it and also our corn esquites,” Feniger said. “We use a queso fresco in our fried fingerling potato dish, and as a base topped with chimichurri. And, of course, we use our cheese mix in our chile relleno.”
Texture, chew, melt, flavor and variety: You’ll find them in California Hispanic-style cheeses.
Are you searching for Hispanic-style cheeses that are delicious and made sustainably? Visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com/foodservice for answers, ideas and inspiration!
