The Cheesemaker Changing Chinese Food Culture

China may seem like the least likely place to find locally made artisanal cheeses-such as camembert, ricotta, and blue cheese-but Liu Yang, a Chinese cheesemaker, is changing that. Our host Nicola Davis visits Yang's cheese shop in Beijing, tries his handcrafted cheeses, and visits the dairy farm where he sources his milk from. As Yang talks about the young dairy industry in China, he believes his "customers need to be educated so they can understand, and fall in love with cheese culture."
Read: China’s Cheese Infatuation Is Getting Ripe - bit.ly/1BXFd3w
More MUNCHIES Presents:
Surviving on Pizza for 25 Years - bit.ly/Pizza-Forever
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[@thomas1401]

I was staying at The Westin in Beijing and they had amazing cheese for Breakfast. I asked them if it was imported and they said they got it locally from a Chinese Cheese artisan. This is the guy!

[@YohannParis]

OH MY GOD, he is using an Opinel to cut his French style cheese! This cheesemaker have now my entire respect for doing such a good, and empowering mission.

[@dumyjobby]

Can I answer what is an Opinel?

[@ricksaunders]

Dumy Jobby Opinel is a brand of French knife.

[@dumyjobby]

Rick Saunders ah ok, thak you very much

[@YohannParis]

Dumy Jobby Sorry, like Rick Saunders said, it is a French knife from the Alps, it can fold, has a simple system to lock the blade, and it is cheap ($20) which make it practical. Anyways it is a must have knife for French Alpans.

[@pianospawn1]

Saw that too, they're good fishing knives.

[@jeromeorange3792]

amazing video, good products, no hipsters, true food.

[@lilchinesekidchen]

Cheese isn't as foreign to china as this video makes it seem. The northern Mongolian-related tribes of China make a kind of cheese that is a daily staple of their diet. But admittedly it is pretty uncommon to the han chinese

[@chuckinchina6926]

Cheese is really only a thing in inner-mongolia and in western China. Most Chinese are familiar with yogurt, and that is really the only dairy product that is widespread and commonly consumed. But western cheeses are becoming more and more popular, especially in the big cities.

[@ainmiky4620]

Yes i my friend is mongolian and they have been making cheese since a long time ago since they alreay had livestock back then before the Europeans even came, or should i say the Russians

[@ballroom23]

Blessed are the cheese makers.

[@davidmurray591]

I think you are refering to all manufacturers of diary products

[@CaptainGrimes1]

@@davidmurray591 Do you mind? I can't hear a word he's saying

[@Manjunn]

Brilliant video. As a British expat living in China, there is nothing I MISS more than Cheese, if only Liu Yang had a shop in Shanghai... I would be there daily! Probably learn how to make cheese from him too!!

[@SnorryHobo]

goat is like "hey you no follow" lol

[@yoshidream]

This was a really nice segment. :) the cheese maker seems like a really genuine guy.

[@mch006]

Good craftsmanship! Keep up the good work

[@ikon8275]

kudos to this guy! It takes a lot of balls to try to introduce cheese to a new culture.

[@recruitmentch]

an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. so many will now be saying 'why didn't we think of it?'. The world's biggest population is now within his grasp. on another note....how could anyone not love cheese is beyond me. If I could, I would just live on cheese.

[@TheLandBased]

Really enjoyed this one Vice, good host, awesome cheese maker.

[@YTMCliff]

Fuck some bullshit China gets freshly made cheese daily while in the states were stuck with month old shit we need a guy like that in Santa Monica

[@Mac102250]

Dude get the fuck out of the desert, and go to Norcal. Creameries out the ass here, after every other winery.

[@OCSleazy]

It's sad that LA has no cheese culture, while even the corner market in SF has artisan cheese. Simply put LA needs to up their food game.

[@JoleneLin78]

amazing mission this man's on. I just discovered some cheese that I love, and found it in Norwegian Brunost and Swedish Blue Cheese. AMAZING. :)

[@JoleneLin78]

Gruvier cheese from Switzerland? okay, i'll go find it! oliver pozzi :)

[@dracowar6]

I used to order his cheeses every other month when i lived in China a decade ago. The ABSOLUTE BEST CHEESE I"VE EVER HAD. And i come from a cheese-obsessed nation

[@DeanRendar]

My filipino mom loves fontina cheese, and I her son enjoy brie for special occasion snacking and queso fresco on normal everyday snacking back when I would eats dairy.

[@dracowar6]

this is best news for me this year. cheese was the only thing i really, really missed here in China :D

[@ItsClout2k]

Guy: *talks chinees* Girl: yes yes

[@CaptainGrimes1]

She's been there 5 years she should be able to understand the language

[@kaelthelion]

Grew up on a dairy farm in the states and I too missed cheese the most during my year in China. My dad sent me five pounds of cheese by post after I told him I missed it.

[@GFINHK]

Yarp, I noticed the knife too. Had a few of them growing up. Sharp as a razor

[@CKPHH]

Respect! want o come here someday

[@skrobotkrzysztof1451]

0.01 japierdole in the back ground made my day

[@SkitHertz]

inspiring, really

[@HiSpeedOxygen]

lovely gal, lovely fellow, great video!

[@lbxXxdl]

All the cheese I see are very smooth on the surface and never so soft. How are those so different?

[@benmartin4540]

To lexman. Beijing camembert denotes the cheese was made in beijing, not normandy france; or hudson valley new york for that matter (shout out to fennel or black pepper crusted camembert styles produced in h.vale N.Y.)

[@RiotHouseLP]

Getting to know the "culture" of cheese ;) is fun

[@SuicidelG]

Fuck I love cheese.. this guy should come to Wisconsin...Rival France any day.

[@infight2499]

I don't know why but that's the stuff I'm interested in watching...cheese making in China :D BTW: Is there a red wine culture in China? Cheese goes very well with red vine :D

[@ace625]

Now to find proper French bread to go with that cheese. I think good bread may be just as hard to find in China.

[@eliharman]

In Beijing probably. But they'd only have to go as far as Harbin.

[@jctai100]

kind of off tangent, but since there's an interplay of french and chinese cultures here why not: Beijing is often pronounced with a soft J like in french, but there is no sound as such in mandarin (although "zhi" is close) It's pronounced with hard J

[@pacootote7665]

Let me be a food taster for one of these? :D

[@TheInCreDIblEMaReKU]

The reporter kind of looks like the female version of Stephen fry

[@contemptuos]

from where in beijing can we get this

[@cuncapt]

Best proff he was in France is the Quechua sweater he is wearing

[@doneyhon4227]

+Capture Uncapturable A fond la forme!

[@chinastar1091]

yes !run!

[@kirikoudesmontagne]

et l'opinel !

[@justmechanicthings]

He could have bought that online

[@Anonthon]

I think the Opinel knife is more telling as decathalon is a very common sportswear brand since its inexpensive.

[@user-ml8dl4rh1e]

I'm Chinese I love cheese especially mozarella. Cheese are becoming acceptable to Chinese especially the young like me. I'm studying in America for undergraduate. Anyway whenever back in China I'd like to eat cheese almost every day

[@zaco666]

I´m hungry now...

[@cossiewill9503]

Is the cheese made from unpasteurized milk?

[@sandrodream5418]

someone could explain me why when there is Cheese come in mind France and not italy ?? ^^

[@musingsofajay387]

LOL Cheese and Chinese is like water and oil... but when done right it works together quite well :D

[@Mnguyen92]

every piece of cheese you should use a different knife.. the cheese flavour is strong it will stick in the blade

[@stevenisidore5094]

I would like to teach lactose intolerant people how to eat cheese 🧀.

[@Friendly4twenty]

why do you have subtitles?? thats so disrespectful

[@vincenttai8211998]

How?

[@Stargate808]

Awesome story about cheese in China, but, all I can think about is sweet Nicola and those steaming bowls of fresh noodles with bok choy and chili oil....hmmm...neither of which I can get right now; or ever. Heart breaking.

[@satyasarcel4053]

I want to make some cheese❤ What are you doing in China?

[@mister1680]

"We usually eat Chinese food" -Chinese girl in China

[@Nanoc.]

The only problem is that not many Chinese citizens can afford to buy such expensive cheese, if its expensive as it is in the West or in Europe its a total no-go for many people there. Average income is like 900 usd/month and 11k yearly, I'd doubt the average person would spend the money on cheese rather than a bowl of noodles or bao

[@sorrylieveschat]

At what prices are those cheeses selling in China?

[@LeePeteZzzaA]

Cheese isnt a big thing in China and in Asian countries because the people are mostly lactose intolerant, plus savory cheese is t what the Chinese find appetizing

[@Salpeteroxid]

+peter lee There is barerly any lactose in cheese. I'm lactose intolarant myself but cheese is absolutely fine for everyone.

[@aeszapt7631]

+peter lee Still there are some ethnic groups that grow up eating diary products like the Mongols, Tibets and Uighurs.

[@aeszapt7631]

+LAN M Of course South Asian people don't have problems with lactose, also Central and North Asians. By Asian I think this guy meant East Asians where the culture isn't too familiar with cheese.

[@dthio]

Dude, I agree with cheese not being popular in traditional Asian food, but it is definitely not because of lactose intolerance. It's because we Real Asians, not u Americans that "speak" Chinese and call yourselves "Asians", we always follow traditions, so back in the 1900s most Asian countries were quite poor, do we grew stuff, and most of them are starchy foods. We didn't farm animals, or anything, we grew potatoes, rice, wheat which we make into flour and then noodles.

[@liruxin6622]

Where did you get the information about Asian people are mostly lactose intolerant?? Like from some kind of research data??

[@pooppellets184]

Hungrayyy

[@MrGregorychant]

"We usually eat Chinese food." No shit. But seriously, this is really intriguing. Saw this documentary called Red Obsession, how the Chinese have become one of the biggest market for fine wine, so perhaps the next natural evolution of their western taste is cheese.

[@Jamhael1]

I would not be surprised - and combined with their ancient tradition of quality rice wines, they would make many wine producing countries become very worried about.

[@OCSleazy]

I've never heard of the 2008 scandal. But, I'm not surprised, since China doesn't have a health department. When I visited there, the conditions the food were kept at restaurants markets were deplorable. IMHO, I think the Chinese government is unofficially trying to curtail the population.

[@rimrim8341]

6:18

[@wetmittens0]

WHOLLY FUCK! I thought that goat had a big ol pair ah nuts!

[@TheDeviousLight]

Aren't like 99% of Asians lactose intolerant? Which sucks cause milk gives good gainz

[@yongliangfang6803]

I have the same question. The only milk I drink these days is lactose free one.

[@billyboy8888]

Yongliang Fang I have read that before, but that figure is for Thai adults. Chinese, especially most northern Chinese have nomadic blood from Mongols and other herder populations. Most of them are only mildly lactose intolerant, the worst it could be are fart and mild diarrhea. Plus, aged cheese have almost no lactose left, even lactose intolerant people could eat it.

[@MrPieman00]

I don't understand that at all, i live in Hong Kong and everyone i have met is not lactose intolerant

[@billyboy8888]

***** yeah, that's natural. all babies are lactose tolerant, only when you get older then you become intolerant. Europeans eat a lot of dairy product, so they keep up the tolerance. Asians, especially southern asians lose it the quickest because of minimal dairy consumption. I used to be completely fine with drinking milk, usually 1 - 2 liters a day. later when I turned 20, I realized it causes severe acne for me. as soon as i stopped drinking it, I developed intolerance within 3 months.

[@StevesSammiches]

About 50% of Chinese people are lactose intolerant in adulthood, which is a fair bit of the population. If you only eat small bits at a time, it won't cause too many problems.

[@getguude]

first of all, its yang liu

[@socerboy06]

There are mainly two reasons why cheese is not popular in China. First, a lot of Chinese people are lactose intolerant. Second, we have lost Mongolia, the biggest grass land once owned by China, thus, the milk is rather expensive.

[@wizcoreyfa]

the demand for lactose intolerant pills in China is about to spike

[@Lexman00]

The bank says they can guarantee me a huge loan. Who wants to partner up with me and start a Mexican restaurant empire in China?

[@kaivonafsari9741]

So do they both understand each other? She has lived in China for 5 years and he studied abroad.

[@Fumfig]

What they're doing is fantastic. I don't know why but it just does things to me to see people speaking different languages to each other in a conversation.

[@TheHayley911]

Considering the effects of the dairy industry on particularly North America, I don't know if it's the worst thing ever that China's is underdeveloped.

[@MeowjinBoo]

that girl is sooo cute :D

[@redpacaderm]

+MajinHurricane Damn sure is, and nice legs too.

[@uglybassterd1]

+Hugh Curl how is she an idiot...

[@Astraphic]

She looks like keira knightly

[@cheekongng]

So much pretending to understand what your saying headnods. Classic

[@elninoheroe663]

Omg yes lol she seemed a little high.

[@jurbanek2704]

jorge martinez She's hot though!

[@CaffeinePanda]

I was thinking the same, but then I thought maybe she's answering in English for the benefit of the viewers and they're editing out some of the Chinese responses? She said she's been living in China for 5 years, seriously doubt she gets by without knowing the language.

[@ZKZ123]

She is fluent in Mandarin.

[@cheekongng]

ECBanker Mandarin headnods, Classic.

[@kashingchan9523]

vice is that you. interviewer/interpreter asks question in mandarin but tells the interviewee not to respond until the interviewer on camera speaks in English...

[@stlslowninja]

His reaction when she asked if there was a cheese he produced that chinese hated was great. He should have asked her if she has seen what these mahf&$&$ eat in Beijing

[@sjewitt22]

not against her, but every british person Vice hires clearly come from a priveladged backround, they need to broaden who they hire more.

[@vetlerradio]

What does that mean, she's a fucking host, she worked to get that position...

[@nicholashu2049]

i remember eating pizza in china, there was no fking cheese

[@whtdafuk1701]

In shunde they make buffalo cheese so cheese making nothing new also in the north of China my family made cheese

[@KingDennisJensen]

chinese people are so cute ;3

[@JustSujC]

I'm not convinced the correspondent understands all of the Chinese being spoken to her. Something is off about their conversation at times.

[@ldvl2782]

French cheese will dominate the world, nothing can stop us

[@liwang6696]

Chinese myself, I don't eat cheese that much, lactose intolerant a little, and I believe most of Chinese are lactose intolerant.

[@erichkiparski314]

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!

[@AzWanderers]

THANK GOD EDDIE WASNT DOING THIS. SO MANY ASIAN DAIRY FART JOKES

[@drawingyourdreams]

Eddie is lactose intolerant so he would have been f*cked up if he tried the Cheese

[@owned2easy]

aren't most chinese people lactose intolerant?

[@HiSpeedOxygen]

yup, most east-asians in general.

[@stirlingfromla]

Lactose intolerant people can eat many types of cheese. The bacteria breaks down the sugar molecule during the aging process. The older the cheese, the easier it is to digest.

[@LordEpicure]

not really~ because interactions with the mongolians and the northen nomadic minorities in general. For example, Beijing has a very popular dairy product that is very similar to greek yogurt.

[@mastercheif878]

I'm chinese and I'm not.....

[@jctai100]

no, this is not true, a larger percentage than average maybe ( also first nations people and i believe black people too somewhat) I grew up in canadian prairies, luv my cheese and milk, as well i've also heard that with enough time and exposure, one can 'overcome' any inherent intolerance if it's mild.

[@BlankSabbath0410]

cheese hasn't caught up in China mainly because of pollution. a product like cheese will not be as tasty when made and ages in such a highly polluted area

[@filthythug5150]

it awesome to see free roaming animals like that! that's how it should be!!

[@them4ster4]

Aren't like 90% of Chinese people lactose intolerant?

[@johnathonmcdaniel751]

I thought Chinese didn't eat cheese

[@Daeron15]

I had very good chinese food in china but him saying that chinese are very open to new flavours its false i have asked many of them what they like to eat and usually is stuff from their hometown. Of course there are korean and japanese places but even those cuisines were influenced in chinese roots. Take kimchi for example fermented spicy cabbage is very common in northern china they have been eating before the koreans, even sauerkraut originated there. Eating seafood raw again not exclusive to japanese cuisine. On the international level the most u see is italian restaurants they serve good pizza but the pasta is never al dente but overboiled, for the "chinese palate" according to the waiter. Even staff of our company that come from china they are not very curious about trying the cuisine of their new environment they just go to the asian market get all they recognize and cook at home. The times we invited them to go out to a steakhouse they were served big steaks of porterhouse dry aged yknow the good stuff... And they were like we are not used to eating this much meat plus its raw (referring to a perfectly cooked medium rare) not only did they asked for it to get cooked to oblivion thus ruining the fine piece of meat but asked for white rice to go with it. And this has appened several times so we just take them to chinese restaurants lol.

[@austincyr9673]

That seems like a very biased observation. All foods are adjusted to fit the culture of the country they are in. Take Chinese food for example. In America, Chinese food is drastically different from what is served in China. Many cultures also share similarities in food. Also, who doesn't like a good home cooked meal? A numerous amount of cultures have at least one fermented dish. There was a dish similar to sauerkraut when the Romans were around. It had been in Europe for a while. Genghis kahn only reintroduced it and he wasn't even Chinese.

[@odoumadiane3924]

E

[@lebenmachtdurstig]

i would move to china just to be with her!

[@JWP6948]

Hand sliced cheese with a side of tetanus from that rusty ads knife. Haha. Good for him can't knock his hustle

[@dunnowy123]

Asian cuisines in general don't use a lot of cheese. I'm Indian and we barely have any cheese dishes either. It's only white people who seem to have this obsession with cheese, I don't really get it. When I do eat cheese, it's like the most standard, mild tasting stuff. I can't handle the really pungent French cheeses white girls tend to swoon over.

[@rekcufeht]

fresh paneer curry. yumm

[@erlokhan2147]

China cheese?? Not fake??? Hahaha

[@MrAndreagia]

In China have never had a cheese culture, all Chinese cheeses, Thailand, Japanese, all of Asia. They are copied from Italian or French cheeses, even the Asian wine culture has never had cultures or wines, sparkling wine, champagne , prosecco, typical of Italian style, now being worldwide In Italy, or France, have never copied anything of Chinese food, because not having culture, raw materials and experience, be fair to leave the Chinese or all of Asia to respect the gastronomic boundaries to their cultures of belonging In asia, even street food is excellent, very good but to think of doing it in Europe is difficult because you do not have the real raw materials or the manual skills of an Asian chef In Asia have a culture about yogurt or sauces

[@peteronister1488]

He speaks mandarin to her and she has no idea what he's saying LOL

[@AlmightyAaron0423]

Chinese doesn't like these shit, they will shipping them to You

[@user-wr5sr1ev8j]

做梦吧

[@One.natation]

just like all the shit they copy turns out like real shit

[@ansonhu3674]

Uhhhhhhhh her Chinese is like a person who doesn’t speak Chinese,saying 你好 or 謝謝 it’s cringe worthy, I’m sorry if that offended u but it’s like speaking mandarin to a Cantonese person

[@hacman1337]

恶心

[@zeonmx]

Probably tastes like shit and hazardous, since the ingredients they use to make cheese are all from good ol' trusty chinese factory made.

[@IRONMANWAGWAN]

Someone obviously didn't watch the whole video before deciding to spew their ignorance

[@jjiang7488]

I think you're made from a factory idiot. Watch the whole video before making racist assumptions.