Durrus is a semi-soft cheese with a washed, yellowish-grey rind.
Inside, the cheese is dotted with small holes, and has a buttery texture with complex aromas.
It is made in two sizes: 380g rounds (5cm x 10cm) and 1.5kg wheels (18cm x 6cm.)
The cheese is made from raw cow’s-milk curdled with animal rennet, and aged 4 to 5 weeks.
Nutrition
45% fat
History Notes
Durrus Cheese was created by Jeffa Gill. She had worked in the fashion industry in Dublin in the early 1970s. She bought a farm in 1973 in West Cork on Sheep’s Head peninsula. She created Durrus in 1979, with milk from her 8 cows.
In 1988, she switched to using milk from a neighbour’s Friesians.
Sources
Bedell, Geraldine. An Irish Round. Manchester: The Observer. 9 March 2003.
Fletcher, Janet. Irish cheesemaker fashions a dandy. San Francisco Chronicle. 11 March 2004.
RTÉ One: The Afternoon Show. Interview with Kevin Sheridan: Christmas Cheese Boards. 12 December 2007. Retrieved February 2009 from http://www.rte.ie/tv/theafternoonshow/2007/1212/cheese509.html