Ardrahan is a semi-firm, washed-rind cheese. Inside the cheese is butter-coloured, with a texture something like a firm camembert. As the cheese ages, it takes on a smokey, tangy flavour. The thin, crusy rind is slightly sticky, and has a salty, nutty-taste. Ardrahan Cheese is a bit smelly. The smell comes from Brevibacterium linens bacteria…
Irish Cheeses
Boilie Cheese
There are two varieties of Boilie Cheese. One variety is made from cow’s milk; the other, made from goat’s milk, is called “Goat’s Boilie.” Both are roughly-formed balls of cheese, marinated in sunflower oil, garlic, herbs and pink peppers. They are sold in the marinade in 7 oz (200 g) glass jars, or 2 1/4…
Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese
Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese is a semi-firm cheese with a spongey-texture from the many small holes in it. It has a mellow, almost sweet taste. It is sold covered in yellow wax; though it’s sometimes coated in green wax for export to America. Carrigaline Farmhouse is made in Carrigaline, County Cork, Ireland by Ann and Pat…
Cashel Blue Cheese
Cashel Blue Cheese is a farmhouse Irish cheese made near Cashel in County Tipperary, Ireland. It’s made on the farm of Jane and Louis Grubb, with milk from their herd of Holstein-Friesian cows. They started making it in 1984; production has doubled every year since then. The milk is pasteurized and cooled down to 90…
Clonmore Cheese
Clonmore is an Irish cheese made from pasteurised goat’s milk and curdled with vegetarian rennet. It is a firm, white cheese with small holes in it, sold coated in beige wax. The production process is similar to Gouda cheese. The cheese has been made since 2001 by Tom and Lena Biggane at their farm outside…
Coolea Cheese
Coolea is an Irish Gouda-style cheese made in Coolea, County Cork, near the Kerry border. It is made from cow’s milk that they procure from their neighbours’ Holstein and Freisian cows. The cheese comes in two sizes of yellow-wax coated wheels, 8.8 pounds (4 kg) and 17 1/2 pounds (8 kg.) Inside, it is firm…
Durrus Cheese
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…
Killeen Cheese
Killeen Cheese is made by Marion Roeleweld at Killeen Millhouse outside Balinasloe, Ireland. It is a firm, Gouda-style cheese. Inside, it is cream-coloured with small holes. There are two versions: one made from goat’s milk, another from cow’s milk. Sources RTÉ One: The Afternoon Show. Interview with Kevin Sheridan: Christmas Cheese Boards. 12 December 2007….
St Tola Cheese
St Tola is a soft, moist, crumbly cheese made from unpasteurized goat’s milk curdled with vegetarian rennet. It is made in Inagh in north-western County Clare, Ireland. It was first made by Meg and Derrick Gordon, in the early 1980s. In 1999, sold out to and cross-trained a neighbour, Siobhán Ni Ghairbhith, who in 2000…