Say cheese!
Mainlanders historically have spurned cheese. But a recent explosion in popularity - China is poised to become Asia's biggest cheese market - shows how wealth is transforming tastes, writes Shirley Lau
During a Christmas soirée in Dalian four years ago, French expat Olivier Verot treated two Chinese friends to a bottle of red wine and slices of Comté, a popular French cheese that has a strong flavour and a hard texture when aged. The wine was downed happily by everyone, but when the cheese was served, the two friends faced a culinary challenge.
“First they found the cheese smelly and worried it was past its sell-by date. It took me quite a long time to convince them there was absolutely no such risk,” says Verot, owner of Gentleman Marketing Agency in Shanghai.“Then they found the cheese too hard. For them, cheese had to be soft and creamy. But in the end, they admitted it was rather good. ‘Rather good’ is not the same as ‘very good’. But it was a good start!”
Stories where cheese is first resisted and then relished are common on the mainland. From stinky stuff reserved for foreigners, cheese is now increasingly perceived as a fashionable delicacy especially in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and industry specialists expect China to unseat Japan as Asia’s biggest cheese market in a few years.
“China’s cheese market is growing at an annual rate of about 30 per cent,” says Han Jin, general manager of Shanghai Roria Trading Company, a distributor of imported food. “In 2012, Japan imported about 210,000 tons of cheese, South Korea 96,000 tons, and China about 45,000 tons. China is likely to catch up with Korea in three to five years, and overtake Japan in five to seven years.”
According to the Italian Trade Commission, China imported about US$180 million worth of cheese in 2012, compared with US$139.26 million in 2011, US$105.45 million in 2010 and US$69.77 million in 2009.
In a country where rapid urbanisation goes hand in hand with Western style consumption, it seems natural for mainland consumers to embrace Western food. But considering that dairy products hardly feature in traditional Chinese cuisine, the rising popularity of cheese in China is a somewhat intriguing phenomenon. Just as Chinese stinky tofu is an oddity for foreigners, many Chinese gourmets initially find the smell and taste of cheese something that takes a little getting used to.