The history of RADAMER
Cheese hit of transformation
Radamer, the first Polish cheese to have holes, celebrated its eighteenth birthday in 2009. It emerged during the period of political and economic transformation as a newly created native product which was an immediate success in the domestic market gaining in immense popularity in the diary industry contest. Despite the passing years and growing competition , Radamer continuous to maintain the leadership position. Every month 400 tones of Radamer supplies the demand of the market.
Hard to believe, still the production of cheese with holes originating in Switzerland is a relatively new to Poland. Our domestic diary industry manufactured its products on the basis of Dutch recipes, which allowed to obtain cheese with characteristic homogeneous texture. The breakthrough in the cheese making industry was the introduction to the market of Radamer cheese manufactured in Spomlek Diary Cooperative in Radzyń Podlaski. This new type of cheese was the result of changes in the maturation process. The use of higher temperature activated propionic fermentation process typical of Swiss cheese. This resulted both in theappearance of nicely shaped large eyes and a unique nutty –sweet flavor of Radamer. This was not only the first cheese of this type in Poland but also the first small cheese to have holes in Europe.
A year after launching the first batch of the product, the demand turned out to be much greater than the production capacity of the cooperative. Despite the fact that Spomlek manufactured 24 tones of cheese daily it became necessary to introduce limits on the number of tones, ranging from 3 to 12 tones a year for the individual purchasers. Radamer was immediately appreciated both by consumers and professionals. In 1995 it took the first place in the National Evaluation of Cheese and won the Gold Medal of Poznan International Fair "Polagra-Food". Radamer has been regularly awarded at international competitions, including Germany and Russia.
Cheese of Radzyń maintains its unique position to this day. It now represents half of the production of all types of cheese manufactured by the cooperative. It is still readily purchased and prized, also in other countries. Much of the production is intended for export- in 2011 nearly half has been sold outside of Poland. Russia is the largest recipient along with other CIS countries, as well as European Union. Spomlek sells its products on all continents except Australia.
Radamer is still mostly purchased by the Poles, in spite of the fact that a number of varieties of cheese with holes has been already created. Our cheese has been a challenge for other Polish producers. As a result, other plants initiated manufacturing Dutch-Swiss cheese. Forced to modernize their production lines, they invested in new technologies. Considering these changes, it can be stated that the introduction of Radamer occurred to be a crucial moment for the cheese making industry.
Launching Radamer also temporarily stopped the import of Swiss cheese. The Polish cheese was not only competitive as far as its price, but also large regular holes proved to be an important element attracting customers. Also its taste, sweeter than other products of this type, won Radamer a permanent group of buyers. One of its secrets is attributed to milk – the top quality, delivered by reliable suppliers exclusively from Polesie region, remaining under constant supervision of our veterinary and zootechnical care provided by Spomlek Diary Cooperative.