Say cheese!

In 2012, we visited Mauritius for the first time. I'd never been to a tropical island before and was excited to try all the fresh fruits and other local specialities, so I got a bit of a shock on the first morning when I sat down to breakfast at my now Father-in-law's house and he presented me with a toasted cheese sandwich! I love toasted cheese sandwiches, but I'd never had one for breakfast before, and I'd never had one made with this:

I soon realised that processed cheese like this is everywhere, in fact for a long time it was the only cheese Mauritians knew. Nowadays, there's much more choice but, as there are very few cows on the island, 99% of dairy products are imported and are priced accordingly. My Father-in-Law told me a story about when the first Camembert cheeses arrived in Mauritius and one of his colleagues was raving about how delicious they were. Pierre spent over half his weekly wages on one, but when he got it home and opened it he saw that it had mould growing on it and he threw it straight in the bin without tasting it!

There are at least four brands of processed cheese on sale, and I think all of them are produced in Australia. Kraft was the one we had at Pierre's house, and it's by far the most well-known, not only because it was the first, but also thanks to its aggressive marketing campaign. You see ads everywhere, from this supermarket stand:

Kraft, the taste of Mauritius.

to corner shops all over the island :

and even on bus stops:

During my parents' recent visit, they decided they wanted to see what all the fuss was about so we bought a box (yes, cheese in a box, and doesn't even have to be kept in the fridge!) and, in true Mauritian style, ate it for breakfast. An entire block disappeared in two days so I think they liked it!

I Googled Kraft processed cheese before writing this post, just to see what would come up, and I found a great product review on Amazon :

"This cheese is very popular back home in Mauritius and I am very pleased that I can get it here in the UK, it is a bit expensive but worth it as its taste is unique and cannot be compared to any other cheeses produced here in the United Kingdom!"