Pardinho Artesanal: Bringing Brazil’s First Raw-Milk Cheese to the U.S.

·36 min·3 clips

How did a Brazilian farm create the first raw-milk cheese legally exported to the U.S.?

This episode of Cutting the Curd features an interview with Vanessa Alcolea, the technical leader at Pardinho Artesanal, a cheesemaking farm in the Cuesta region of São Paulo, Brazil. Host John Braga introduces the episode by highlighting the farm's shift from cattle genetics to artisanal cheesemaking, focusing on Mandala, the first Brazilian raw-milk cheese exported to the U.S. Vanessa explains her background, including how a horse allergy led her to veterinary medicine and eventually cheesemaking. She describes Pardinho as combining technology with manual production to create taste-of-place cheeses. The farm uses Gir and Jersey cows, with a herd of 110 milking cows and 600 total, emphasizing pasture-raising and animal welfare practices like keeping calves with mothers during milking. Vanessa details the decision to use raw milk starting in 2014 to highlight regional microorganisms and terroir. She discusses Mandala's production as a cooked and pressed curd washed-rind cheese aged for 12 months, with flavors of tropical fruits and nuts. The episode covers the partnership with Issex Street Cheese, initiated after meeting Jason Hinds at a cheese contest, which led to exporting cheese to the U.S. after three years of obtaining FDA and FSSC 22000 certifications. Vanessa talks about the limited production of 70-78 wheels sent by plane with dry ice and the positive reception in the U.S. The conversation shifts to the Brazilian cheese scene, where historically cheeses had to reference European styles, but Pardinho pioneered using original names. Vanessa shares her experiences as a cheese judge and sommelier, which helped in cheese selection. She expresses hope for Brazilian artisanal cheese gaining more recognition globally and mentions plans to expand production. The episode concludes with Vanessa inviting listeners to try their cheeses and promoting Pardinho on Instagram.

As heard by us

A Sao Paulo cheese farm turns cattle expertise, raw milk, and terroir into a grounded story of Brazilian cheese crossing borders.

Cutting the Curd follows a farm in Sao Paulo's Cuesta region as decades of cattle-genetics work evolve into artisanal cheesemaking. Raw milk, terroir, animal welfare, and landscape all sit close to the center, while Vanessa Alcolea, the farm's veterinarian, affineur, and…

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Why you'd press play

You get Brazil's raw-milk cheese story through rolling hills, cattle genetics, terroir, and a wheel making its way to American counters.

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