Despite the growing popularity of green diets and plant-based cooking, diary consumption is still high in the United States. A Bloomberg report said that last year, diary sales rose to $61 billion, up $7 billion from a year earlier. A new star is also emerging in the dairy sector in America – India’s beloved paneer.
Although cheese has been around since the 1500s, its high protein and fat content has made it a favorite on the keto diet, which, according to a Bloomberg report, is a $9.5 billion market in 2019. Its high melting point retains its shape. When cooked, it becomes a good candidate for vegetarian dishes like the famous saag paneer.
The growing affinity for paneer was also reflected in the web, where “Indian restaurant near me” was up 350% and “paneer maker” up 140% on Google Trends last year.
In New York, Chef Chintan Pandya of Unapologetic Foods has raised the bar with his “lightweight and incomparably cushioned product” from a dairy upstate with a blend of milk and cream. Pandya’s paneer is now a top seller at their Lower East Side restaurant, Dhamaka, where it is grilled and topped with garam masala.
“A lot of people ask us what’s different, we just put the time and money into it,” Pandya was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
The versatility of cheese also allows chefs to explore cooking methods. Across America, cheese is made in a variety of ways – served with smoked and charred corn, made with wine and served with caviar, and topped on pizza.
A San Francisco couple created a version of paneer that differs from widespread commercial versions such as Nanak’s made by Canada-based Punjab Milk Foods; Amul based in Gujarat, India; and Mother Dairy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board of India. Former technical staff, Jasleen and Tarush Agarwal, started Sach Foods, which specializes in small batch cheeses, made from organic grass-fed milk from Holstein cows.
“Our growth in the cheese world is unparalleled, especially during a global pandemic, when the usual methods of selling new accounts are not implemented,” Tarush said. Jasleen and Tarush are ramping up production five days a week—two to three days a week—to begin serving 1,000 stores in the first quarter of 2022.
In contrast, a recent Guardian report indicated that Indians, who have paneer on a pedestal, are becoming more open to European cheese. According to the report, the demand for gourmet cheese platters in urban middle-class households has turned “ballistic” this year, in the words of a Delhi-based supplier.
While it is certainly difficult to access dark, deep cellars to age their cheeses, it is now possible to get fresh, Indian-made mozzarella, stracciatella, burrata, Gruyere, Stilton, Halloumi, Reblochon, Comte, Cheddar, Feta and Parmesan . Cities and towns across India.
Sundaresan, co-founder of Kaase, the only artisan cheesemaker in the South Indian city of Chennai, was surprised at the sudden spurt in demand for pecorino cheese, partly due to a viral Instagram pasta dish. “It would have been unimaginable two years ago,” Sundaresan told The Guardian.
Although demand has increased, cheese-making cows struggle to find the right quality of milk, compared to grass-fed cows that have not been given any hormones. The lack of reliable cold chain in India also makes it difficult to transport fresh paneer.
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