When you think of Ireland you probably think of Guinness, lucky shamrocks, or Bono, there are likely a few more things, but what probably doesn’t feature on the list is Irish cheese. But Ireland is a producer of some wonderful cheeses, for instance, did you know that in 2018 Ireland won an incredible total of 14 gold medals at the Artisan Cheese Awards?
Something that feels like it should be obvious, but probably wouldn’t occur to most people is cheese differs from cow to cow, it all depends on the type of cow and what they’ve been eating. Ireland is known for having one of the longest grass-growing seasons in the world, meaning they spend more time of the year grazing on healthy grass than in a lot of other countries and because of that, it means the milk that Irish cows produce is tastier and, as such, so is Irish cheese.
Ireland is, unbeknownst to many, quite a big cheese exporter, out of all the cheddar cheese imported to the UK Ireland is responsible for roughly 47% of it.
Which Irish cheese is the best?
There are a lot of popular Irish cheeses, according to Sheridan’s, which is Ireland’s largest cheese retailer, Cashel Blue is Ireland’s most popular, which is a semi-soft creamy Irish farmhouse blue cheese. Some other popular Irish cheeses include Cáis na Tíre, Cnoc Dubh, Coolea, Gubbeen, Killeen Goat, Knockanore Smoked, and Wicklow Blue.
Is there a cheese that was invented in Ireland?
Milleens is a cheese that put Ireland on the world cheese map. First manufactured in 1976 by Veronica and Norman Steele, it is a soft, washed-rind cheese made using the milk of cows from the Beara peninsula of South West Ireland. It is the longest-established Irish farmhouse cheese.
To find out more about Irish cheese and other foods available, go to horgans.com
