Hello everyone,
 
I am finally back from not only the cheese world but my cheese dream too which I was living in so far and so here I write about one of my most memorable trips to the Go Cheese Plant at Mancher in Pune district of Maharashtra, owned by Parag Milk Foods and witness how cheese is made.

The trip was just exciting as I spent the entire day from discovering how cheese is made to relishing every tiny bit of different cheese products I could lay my hands on. 😀 I am sure you all may be thinking and even wondering as to how much cheese I consumed, for that I shall just keep mum. 😛
 
I embarked on this trip in a bus from Dadar with fellow bloggers and few people from varied backgrounds. A bunch of mixed individuals, we, over the period of time just gelled on the trip. As we began our journey we were showered with some lovely products of Gowardhan to keep our tummy khush on the way.
 
 
As we entered this beautiful place where the factory was situated we were welcomed with love with some traditional music being played on the dhols and shehnaais. Also we were welcomed in the true Indian tradition by applying a tikka on our forehead, garlanded with a necklace of beads and a coconut placed in our hands. To give it a special touch we were seated on the spot on a chair where a person came and tied us a turban on the head. I felt a bit dizzy, hehehe because the person who did that did it in a jiffy. Amazing isn’t it, see how cute I look in the picture below. 😀
 
As we all sat in the room we were also served yogurt and some dry fruits which was yum. An official from the company explained to us how Parag Milk Foods was born and in turn how Gowardhan and Go Cheese came into existence.
 
In their brand name Gowardhan, which means cow nourishment, they have seen to it that they do this with utmost priority and care to give the cow nourishment to the masses with their go attitude.
 
Their company has done a lot for the local farmers who were facing lots of trouble due to the co-operatives’ milk holidays. Thanks to their founder’s vision and mission they have conquered great heights in the milk industry with their brands Gowardhan and Go Cheese. Their milestones being so great that today they own Asia’s largest cheese plant with an installed capacity of 40 MT per day. Isn’t this a feather on their cap? 😀
 
As we were told a lot more about cheese and cheese we realized that the yummy cheese we all crave for on all the leading brands pizzas are sourced from Go Cheese itself. So now you too know the secret I know. 😛
 
After knowing so much about the company and how hard it’s striving to meet its goals and objectives in order to be no.1 soon in the world and in turn helping the farmers, we were taken to the cow farm a little far away from the cheese factory.
 
As we entered the cow farm we were made to take some hygiene steps so that we don’t infect the cow farm and were also told to refrain from clicking pictures. Once in, we were explained in detail about how the cow farm is maintained, how the cows are taken care of and how the milking process takes place.
 
We were all delighted to see and learn as to how the cows were taken care of more lovingly than humans and how well they responded back to this love and affection by being disciplined and also how much they loved being pampered. Every possible equipment to keep the cows hydrated as well as to maintain the place clean was available. The fodder given to the cows also is a mix of a variety of nutrients that is required for their well-being. Each and every cow receives the same nourishment no matter what. Besides this, the cows are taken good care of even after they stop milking. J
 
The milking process is done as per the latest German technology called the Rotolactor which not only ensures quick milking but also detects when a cow is not fit for milking so as to ensure that we receive fresh and quality milk. The milk collected in this process is branded as Pride of Cows which reaches the consumer within 12 hours. Also this milk is untouched and so the feeling of the same is as though the cow was feeding its calf. The balance unconsumed milk is used to make different varieties of cheese and other milk products that we gorge on.
 
The icing on the cake of this cow farm tour was meeting the baby calves which were as young as few days old and got a chance to feed them milk in a bottle. The feeling of the same was priceless.
After a lovely time at the cow farm, we were served amazing and mouth-watering lunch which had lots of milk products too in the form of paneer, lassi etc. 😀
 
 
 
 
Next up on this cheese trip was to visit the GO Cheese World, where cheese is made after the milk is extracted from the cows. The entire place had cheese cheese and only cheese posters, right from its birth to its variety of forms today. For hygienic reasons we were made to wear hygiene cloaks as well as were given variety of accessories to cover our mouth and head. We were then taken on the factory tour by a lady who explained to us how the mechanized process of making cheese happens and how its quality check is done at each step.
 
 
 
The cheese derived in the factory is 100% vegetarian and even the rest of the milk products are. I was totally amazed by the entire cheese formation from just milk to its conversion to cheese and the variety of cheese forms. The storage facility of the cheese is also well maintained. We were lucky enough to see the same too. During this entire visit in the cheese factory my nose could also smell cheese and my eyes too had cheese all over it. Hehehe, that was my love for cheese that had awakened.
 
As we ended the entire day  long visit of the cheese factory, we were yet again served with pizzas with fresh cheese as well as all types of cheese from cheese cubes to mozzarella  cheese too I can’t even remember the names. You see all I could eat sleep and drink was cheese.
 
 
The evening at the cheese factory ended on a light note, as I said my final goodbye to the lovely host, I got a goodie bag of cheese products and also my framed photo with the turban. Isn’t this cheesilicious?
 
I was so happy that I made it to this trip, not only for the cheese trip, but also met some fellow bloggers and made quite a lot of like-minded friends.
 
On my way back to Mumbai, I was left with memories of cheese, the warmth of Parag Milk Food to the society and to the world at large.
I hope my cheesy trip has tickled your taste buds enough to grab a Go Cheese right now.