That is one tip from Dunedin cheese-roll maker Isabella Forbes, who has five entries in this year's Ultimate Cheese Roll competition.
The competition is part of the New Zealand International Science festival, to be held in Dunedin next monthMrs Forbes (74) entered after spotting the advertisement in the Otago Daily Times.
"I thought, 'fancy that, cheese rolls, that's my thing!' I don't expect to win it, I just think you've got to keep supporting these things," she said.
So far Mrs Forbes has entered her original cheese rolls, cheese and apple, cheese and onion, and cheese and pineapple rolls, with her last entry being a special recipe.
The Scottish-born grandmother has lived in New Zealand for 47 years, and started making cheese rolls when her eldest daughter Dianne, now 39, was in high school.
"My daughter would come home after school and ask what she could snack on, and if I had cheese rolls, she could pop two or three in the oven.
"Now my grandson loves them too," she said.
"Between the two of us we could eat half a dozen."
Having worked in a delicatessen, Mrs Forbes said she was "pretty up with the cheeses", and although she favours smoked cheeses and havarti, "you can't go past a staple like Mainland Tasty for a good cheese roll".
Mrs Forbes used her own recipes, and said her variations, like cheese and apple, or cheese and pineapple, were a result of experimentation, which has taught her a few things.
"Don't dry the pineapple. You need that extra flavour," she said.
Entries for the competition close on Friday, June 25, at 5pm, and will be judged by the University of Otago's Food Science team.
The winner will be announced on July 6.
Tickets for the science festival, which runs from July 6-12, are available online at www.scifest.org.nz
- Dominique Fourie
