The book “The Saga of Russian Cheese” has been published, which has become a real encyclopedia of Russian cheese making. The publication was published by the Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant, which is part of the AgriVolga agricultural holding of the Agranta company. The presentation of the book took place at the House of Books on Novy Arbat in Moscow.
The Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant has released a book about the history of Russian cheese making
On April 25, 2023, the presentation of the book “The Saga of Russian Cheese” took place in Moscow at the House of Books on Novy Arbat. The book is the result of extensive research work. The publisher was the Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant (USMZ), part of the AgriVolga agricultural holding.
Elena Lomakina, CEO of the Agranta company, which includes AgriVolga, noted that the AgriVolga holding began its activity in the Yaroslavl region in 2007 with the development of organic production, and in the course of this work, the company turned to the history of Russian cheese making. And when in 2018 USMZ entered the structure of the AgriVolga company, a large-scale modernization began at the production facility, during which the company received access to the archives of factory documents of the 60s – 70s, including how Russian cheesemaking developed – and this happened on Uglich land, back in pre-revolutionary times. “We were surprised to learn that Russian cheese making has such deep roots that are not inferior to Swiss or French cheese making. We decided that it would be very important to share this information with a wide audience. Thus the idea for the book was born. Moreover, we found that there are no books of this level and scale on the shelves of bookstores, there are only a lot of books with recipes for cheese dishes. We decided to immerse the reader in the story. Tell about Russian cheese, about the origins of the Russian school of cheese-making, which was founded and developed at the end of the 19th century by Nikolai Vereshchagin, about the so-called “cheese triangle”, which connected the places of Edimonovo in the Tver region, Uglich and Koprino in the Yaroslavl region. A large-scale work was carried out, the result of which we are pleased to share with both professionals and the general reader,” Elena Lomakina noted.
As the moderator of the presentation notes, the director of strategic marketing of the company “Agranta” Anna Khvorostyanaya, in the 30s of the twentieth century, the accumulated knowledge of Russian cheese makers was preserved in the Soviet cheese recipe, in GOSTs, which were developed by VNIIMS – All-Russian Research Institute of Butter and Cheese Making. “USMZ carefully preserves these recipes, producing the most famous varieties of cheeses. We use the strategic experience of Uglich microbiologists, using time-tested high-quality domestic starter cultures, which are created at the Uglich biofactory,” Anna Khvorostyanaya said. USMZ produces such famous cheeses as “Uglichsky”, “Russian”, “Poshekhonsky”, “Dutch”, “Cheddar”, as well as organic cheeses of the Ugleche Pole brand.
“Having published the book, we did not stop there, but decided to create a cheese-making museum at the USMZ. Visitors to the museum "SyrKultProsvet" get acquainted not only with the history, but also with the production of cheese. One of the walls of the production hall is made of glass, and it will be possible to see the entire production process. And in the restaurant “SyrBor” cheeses and dishes made from Russian cheeses will be presented,” said Elena Lomakina.
Noting the importance of creating the book “The Saga of Russian Cheese”, the head of VIAPI named after. A.A. Nikonova – branch of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Federal Research Center VNIIESKh, representative of the Free Economic Society, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Alexander Petrikov emphasized that the history of Russian cheese making & nbsp; – one of the brightest pages of the Free Economic Society, which was created in 1765 by Catherine II “to encourage agriculture and housing construction in Russia.” “Vereshchagin's project on artel cheesemaking and buttermaking is one of the most successful projects of the VEO, it concerned precisely the profitability of the predominant part of the Russian population – the peasants. The project was attended by great public figures of Russia, including Dmitry Mendeleev. I read the book “The Saga of Russian Cheese” voraciously, this is a truly unique publication, one of the pages of the history of food in Russia. One can know the history of the Fatherland not only from the history of the class struggle, the history of the state, but also from the history of products. In addition, this book is evidence of the revival of the Russian province. We are tired of fast food. I would like to consume Russian regional products, provincial brands. We need to support local brands, products that have historically been produced in Russia,” Alexander Petrikov emphasized.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the company” Agranta ” and the Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant for such an excellent publication. The book contains a lot of information even for me, a person who is involved in knowledge transfer. The book came out very timely. Now the younger generation has the feeling that cheese-making in the country began to develop only recently, when various cheese-makers-media personalities appeared, when you can open your own small business and engage in cheese-making. Yes, the cheese-making industry is now at a new stage, but we have been doing this since Peter the Great. I note that even foreigners, when they come to Russia and try our products, say that it is very tasty, they recognize the taste and quality of our cheese, they want to buy it. And organic products that are produced in Russia are also highly valued on a global scale. It is important to know and preserve the history and preserve the identity of the product, so that anywhere in Russia, and even abroad, a person, having tasted cheese and not seeing the label, could say: “Yes, this cheese is made in Russia!”. Thank you for this book,” said Oksana Kuznetsova, Director of the V. M. Gorbatov Federal Scientific Center for Food Systems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In the book “The Saga of Russian Cheese” the history of Russian cheese-making from pre-Petrine times to the present day is covered. From the book, the reader will learn what kind of cheese contemporaries of Ivan the Terrible ate, why Peter I invited cheese makers from Holland to Russia, where cheese was supplied to the restaurants of Pushkin's times, why Russian cheese is a truly unique product that has no analogues in other countries.
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«The book «The Saga of Russian Cheese» – a unique chronicle of the development of Russian cheese making, rich in amazing stories and examples. The people of England are proud that these cheese traditions, the old recipe have been preserved, and all the famous cheeses continue to be produced in their original territory. And in the restaurant “SyrBor” Museum «SyrKultProsvet» At the Uglich Cheese and Dairy Plant, you can try various dishes with Uglich cheese,” notes Grigory Mosin, brand chef of the SyrBor restaurant.
The book publishers thank you for cooperation within the framework of work on the book House-Museum of the Vereshchagin Family, All-Russian Research Institute of Butter and Cheese Making (VNIIMS), & nbsp; The administration of the Uglich municipal district of the Yaroslavl region, the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Hermitage Museum, the State Russian Museum, the Rybinsk State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve, the ethnocultural complex «Tygydym Village» and other organizations.
The book will be of interest to professionals, specialists in agriculture, food industry, cheese making, experts, historians, and the general reader, adults and children. “The Saga of Russian Cheese” – a real encyclopedia of life in Russia, if viewed from the angle of the development of Russian cheesemaking.