This post was written by Delicious guide Tova Garr, who finds time to take Delicious guests on her amazing tours in between working for Good Deeds Day, running her own counseling business and taking care of her very, very cute dog!
Visiting Israel today you get to enjoy a wide selection of delicious Israeli cheeses. Every typical Israeli breakfast will have at least four different kinds of cheese to enjoy, but this was not always the case! Until the late 1960s/early 1970s, you could find a very limited selection of dairy products in the markets. These would typically be a basic white, spreadable cheese; a mild, basic yellow cheese; a cheese called “Tzfatit” (a fresh chewy texture cheese that was made in the city of Tzfat in the Galilee stating in the early 20th century); and a couple of types of low-fat, yogurt-like options.
With the entrance of supermarkets, accessible refrigeration and especially the rise in international travel, there became a demand for a more complex more varied selection of cheeses. For many years, Tnuva, one of the oldest and largest dairy distributors in Israel, collected dairy from farms all across the country and distributed the products under its name. We started to see the rise of different yogurts and dairy products, but nothing too exciting. It took until the 1990s (!) until we started seeing the import of more exotic cheeses — aged cheeses, blue cheeses, stinky cheeses.
Over the years, many smaller-size dairy farms have popped up, creating creative and interesting dairy products of all kinds. They’ve also expanded to goat and sheep cheeses to accommodate not only developing complex tastes of Israelis but also the prevalence of lactose-intolerant eaters.
One of my favorite things around this time of year as we prepare for Shavuot—the holiday of cheese—is to travel around the country and visit my favorite dairy farms. Since things are a little different this year, I wanted to share with you some great option for getting special cheeses from local farms that also deliver. Here are my top three picks!
Meshek Ofaimme
Just two of their beautiful cheeses—the bottom one is wrapped in grape leaves!
Located in the Arava region of Israel, this unique farm focuses on sustainable agriculture, fair trade practices, and social responsibility. They grow everything organically, controlling the whole process: from seed to customer. Over the last few years, they have opened some excellent restaurants around the country were you can enjoy their produce and delicious cheese, or you can take a trip down the Arava to their visitor center!
And of course, these days, you can just order online: https://ofaimme.com/
Ivry Dairy
Ivry’s ‘peppered Pecorino’ cheese
This family farm was established in the early 1950s by a family of Iraqi origin. The cow and goat milk on the farm was used to make traditional Iraqi cheeses that were meant for the family. Demand from friends and neighbors inspired the family’s two sons to head to Italy in the early 1990s to learn all about the art of making cheese. Today they focus on sheep cheeses made from the milk of their sheep flock. On Fridays, you can come visit the farm, taste the cheeses and do activities with the kids. They have been surviving the last few months by doing deliveries all over the country. I can’t recommend their burrata highly enough! Find them at https://ivry-dairy.co.il/
Bat Harim
Some of the cheeses you’ll find in Bat Harim’s Shavuot box!
Bat Harim Dairy sits in the hills of the north of Israel for some 22 years already. The owner, who comes from a family with a construction business, used to work in the family business but would make cheese as a hobby. In 1998, Israel had a building crisis and he decided to make his hobby in to a business—lucky for us! At Bat Harim they pride themselves on handmade cheese with traditional methods and with no preservatives.
Before COVID-19 they sold mostly to hotels and restaurants. To save their business they have now partnered with a website called Hamelaket to help them with shipping so they can stick to what they do best: make cheese.
Wherever you are getting your cheese for Shavuot, look for the small dairy farms around you who could use your support these days—and even better, you are likely to find your new favorite place to buy your cheese!
To see our picks for cheese shops in the markets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, check out this post.
Cover photo via GoArava
