Sakura cheese facts for kids

Sakura cheese is a special kind of soft cheese made in Hokkaidō, Japan. It's created by a farm called Kyodo Gakusha Shintoku Farm.

The name "Sakura" means "cherry blossom" in Japanese. Cherry blossoms are a very important symbol in Japan. This cheese is similar to camembert cheese. It's washed in a local Japanese drink called sake (specifically, Yachi Yanagi). Then, it's dusted with local plants like Dutch myrtle and Sasayuki. Finally, it's wrapped in bamboo leaves picked right from the farm.

Making Sakura Cheese

Kyodo Gakusha Shintoku Farm started in 1974. Shinichiro Miyajima founded it. The farm also makes another award-winning cheese called Shintoko. Shintoko is like a Gruyère cheese and is aged for over 10 months. This gives it a rich and complex taste.

Today, Shinichiro Miyajima's son, Nozomu Miyajima, runs the farm. He is also an award-winning cheesemaker. He studied dairy science at Wisconsin State University. Nozomu believes his farm's success comes from its special volcanic soil and naturally filtered water. These natural elements help make their cheeses unique and delicious.

Sakura Cheese: A Japanese Success Story

Eating and making cheese is quite new in Japan. It wasn't traditionally part of Japanese cooking. In 1900, people in Japan ate very little cheese. But after World War II, Japan started to eat and make much more cheese. Now, Japan is one of the biggest buyers of cheese in the world!

Sakura Cheese is a big step for Japan's cheese industry. It was the first Japanese cheese to win a major international award. It won a gold medal in the soft cheese category. This happened at the Mountain Cheese Olympics in Appenzell, Switzerland. Winning this award was very special. Usually, cheeses from Europe, like Switzerland, Italy, or France, win these top honors. Sakura Cheese showed that Japan can make world-class cheese too!

See also

In Spanish: Sakura (queso) para niños