It's a long, long way to Tipperary, etc.

Welcome to Prudence Dapperling's "Mouse in a Million" BIG CHEESE Blog!

No cheese tour of my native islands would be complete without a look at the delights produced in Ireland.

When I think of the Emerald Isle, five exquisite farmhouse cheeses come to mind: Cashel Blue, Crozier Blue, Coolea, Milleens, and Croghan.

Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue
As their names suggest, these are blue cheeses--two of the very few produced in the British Isles. Cashel Blue is made of raw cow's milk. Crozier Blue is the product of raw sheep's milk (and, by the way, is the only sheep's milk blue cheese made in Ireland). Both are the creations of the Grubb Family and are made on their farm at Beechmount (near Cashel) in County Tipperary.

The youngest cheeses (aged 2 to 3 months) have a white paste, are firm, creamy around the edges, and delightfully tangy, but never strong. As they mature (aging up to 6 months), the cheeses resolve themselves to a rounder, richer flavor and achieve a buttery yellow paste and a luxurious creaminess. Throughout the paste is the marbled bluing for which the cheeses are known. The rind is untreated and, as such, is edible. The cheeses are foil-wrapped, weigh 4 pounds, and are 5 inches high and 6 inches in diameter.

Serve Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue at room temperature and as a accompaniment to fruit (e.g., figs, pears, grapes, or apples), nuts (walnuts, pecans), and your favorite crackers or crusty bread. Sweeter wines go best with the more mature cheeses. For the younger ones, wines with some acidity make the best accompaniment. Gewurtzraminer is a good wine for a young Cashel Blue, Reisling Trocken (dry) for a young Crozier Blue.

For the blue cheese lover (Me! Me!), both Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue are absolute ambrosia.

Coolea
This Gouda-style, raw cow's milk cheese has been made by the Willems Family in Coolea, West County Cork, since 1979. Coolea comes in wheels 9 to 12 inches in diameter, weighing 900g, 5.5 kg, or 9 kg, and has a firm light yellow paste and rich, smooth, carmel-like flavor. Younger cheeses are aged 6 to 12 months, the more mature ones 14 to 18 months. Like Gouda, Coolea comes wrapped in a solid wax rind that helps to preserve its flavor and texture. The cheese goes well with fruit, good bread, and  most wines and beers.

Milleens
This remarkable raw cow's milk cheese is made by Veronica and Norman Steele on their farm on the Beara Peninsula in County Cork. Milleen is a soft, washed-rind cheese, which matures within 4 to 10 weeks. It's fragrant, rich, and hugely flavorful, with a sweet, creamy taste and texture, and a gorgeous salmon pink rind.

Croghan
Croghan is a semi-soft, raw goat's milk cheese made at Croghan's Goat Farm by its creators Luc and Anne Van Kampen in Blackwater, County Wexford.

The rind, brine-washed and pinkish tan, covers a  vaguely disk-shaped, 2-month old cheese, weighing 2 to 3 pounds. Full, rich, slightly goaty, with nuts, herbs, and garlic abounding in a paste that is smooth and silky, this cheese is absolutely glorious. Serve Croghan with fruit, crusty bread, sparkling white wine and pale ale.

What does all this mean? When you visit Ireland, for heaven's sake, try the cheese!


Like Cheese? Check out America's Chevalier du Taste-Fromage Steven Jenkins' blog here.

And don't miss the latest installment from that wise and worthy cheese-loving feline, Spaulding Gray.

Like mice and bats and other critters of the night? Then you'll love Darklings! Buy it here...