Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Taste of the Week. Bó Rua Farm Cheese

Taste of the Week
Bó Rua Farm Cheese


In Ballynoe, in a corner of North East Cork, you’ll find Bó Rua Farm where Norma and Tom Dinneen make excellent cheese. I first came across the cheese - it came on the market early this year - in Sage where chef Kevin Aherne has it on his 12 Mile Menu. If it’s good enough for Kevin, it’s good enough for me.


But I must admit I forgot about it for a few weeks until I met Tom at the Cork Kerry Food Forum in the City Hall. Had a few samples there and bought a wedge or two of this handmade and handsome cheese with great quality and flavour and already a winner at the CÁIS Awards.


One of the secrets is that the milk comes from their Montbéliere cows, also known as red cows (hence the Bó Rua). The breed is known for the exceptional quality of the milk, a quality enhanced by the rich local grass.


It is basically a cheddar style cheese, semi-hard. They make a natural version and then two flavoured varieties, Cumin Seeds and Tomato with Oregano, Basil and Garlic. The Tomato and Herb was the one I enjoyed at leisure at home and is Taste of the Week.


Careful nurturing of the cheese is needed during maturation, with regular turning and grading. It takes a minimum of six months for the cheese to mature, before it can be sent out for customers to enjoy. The rind is inedible, so remove before eating the cheese.


Bó Rua Farm
Ballyknock, Ballynoe, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland. P51HYH6.
Tel: +353 (0) 86 8385547
Twitter: @boruafarm
Web: http://boruafarm.ie  

Monday, June 6, 2016

Cheesemaking Buzz at Toons Bridge. Café And Shop. And A Pizza Oven

Cheesemaking Buzz at Toons Bridge
Café And Shop. And A Pizza Oven
Franco, the maestro, ready to rock 'n roll
It is around noon on Friday and Franco gives the signal. No big noise then but you can feel the creative buzz as the three-man crew swing into action making Mozzarella in the gleaming Toons Bridge Dairy. Amazing to see the trio work from the big floppy cubes of curd.

First the cubes are mechanically diced, then Franco gets his hands on it - the skilled hands of a fourth generation Italian cheesemaker who’s been making cheese since he was eleven - manipulating the curd in
a steaming vat (hot water is being piped in), stretching it to almost unimaginable elastic proportions, then after a little draining off, he hands it on and soon from the little machine opposite emerge those gorgeous little balls.
Awaiting their turn to get to market - Cacio Cavallo mainly.

We are offered a taste. We chew the sample; it is like a milky “meat”! No salt yet. Brineing, a strong one for a short spell (an hour or so), and then it goes into its “transport brine”, the one you’ll see in the stalls the very next day. Toons Bridge Mozzarella is the freshest in Ireland,” says our guide Ronan. “Made today, on sale tomorrow.” Indeed, if you call to their cafe next door, you could well be eating your freshest ever! Some of the whey, by the way, is retained in the dairy and used as a starter for the next batch

We’ll get to the café soon but first there’s much more cheese to be seen and tasted. With no fresh buffalo milk available to them anymore, Toons Bridge have creatively filled the gap by adding a string of gorgeous Italian style cheeses to their range.
Cacio Cavallo
Recently, we featured their Cacio Cavallo as Taste of the Week. They actually make four versions of this cow's milk cheese. Cacio Cavallo can age marvellously, turning the soft, rubbery paste hard and flinty that it needs to be broken in shards. The flavours can be huge, as they harness all of the various raw milk bacteria to ripen the curd.

Franco tolds me that they use a kid rennet (in a paste form) for the Piccante version and also in their Pecorino (we’ll get to that later). He reckons it enhances the fermentation, leading to better flavours. They also do a Mesophilic version. No starter culture at all is used, just a natural slow fermentation of the milk. The result is reminiscent of traditional English cheese such as Caerphilly or Cheshire.
The curd, before it is diced into much smaller pieces
Lots of new words to be learned around here. Another is Scamorza which is a simple stretched curd cheese that is hung (you can see the mark of the string) for a short period of time to air dry. It is similar to mozzarella and melts well. It is sweet and delicate. They do both smoked and unsmoked versions and I must say I enjoy the smoked one (great when stuffing those big flat mushrooms). Pier 26 in Ballycotton have it on their cheese plate.

They also do Halloumi and Ricotta (try with Highbank Orchard Syrup). And then there’s the Pecorino Vincenzo.  Pecorino is the general name for sheep’s cheese in Italy. This pecorino is made in Toons Bridge by Vincenzo to a family recipe from his native Marche region.  Vincenzo has a small flock of sheep nearby and they make this gorgeous Pecorino right here. Another must try from this rural hub of creativity. If you want more details on the cheeses, please click here.
Pecorino
 Time now for lunch in the sun. After all the cheese tasting, we decided on something different.  Most of the staff were getting their pizzas, topped with Toons Bridge cheese of course! Friday is a nice relaxing day here.  Both of us started with a Hummus Plate (two types of hummus, with basil pesto, olives and flat breads from the pizza oven). Substantial and delicious.

The counter was lined with attractive colourful salads (quite a few in the shop for takeaway as well) including Pearled barley, harissa, carrot and dill; pesto, potato and pea; beetroot, quinoa and chickpea, with balsamic dressing; two potato and mint. You could pick any three plus salad leaves for nine euro. We each did just that and enjoyed them in the sun in the garden. Meat Boards and Tapas Plates were also available as were of course the pizzas. Lots of soft drinks too, including my Elderflower cordial, wines by the glass and local beers.

The old stumps - there are 100s-
in The Gearagh
It was a delightful interlude, the lunch well earned we thought! Earlier, after the short drive down from the city we took the familiar R584. This is quite a road if you have time on your hands. Even in a short space, you can call to the Prince August Toy Soldier Factory (a must if you have kids), The Gearagh and Toons Bridge.

Our first stop was at the nearby Gearagh, the only ancient post glacial alluvial forest in Western Europe, a beautiful spot, great for a walk through bushes and trees and wild-flowers and the stump-strewn waters on both sides of your path. Click here for the Discover Ireland listing and a short paragraph of info on this remarkable place.
Looking into the cafe, from our table in the garden;
we were early, the place would soon be full.
 If you want to continue on the R584, there are many more stops to make (including Gougane Barra, Keimaneigh, and Carrigass Castle) before you get to Ballylicky and a stop for refreshments at Manning’s Emporium. For more on the R584, check my post The Many Attractions of Driving the R584


But last Friday, we settled for The Gearagh and Toons Bridge Dairy and Cafe. Well educated and well fed, we headed for home and a sunny afternoon in the back garden!

Hummus

Three salads


The Gearagh

Walk through The Gearagh

Take a break!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Taste of the Week. Toons Bridge Cacio Cavallo

Taste of the Week
Toons Bridge Cacio Cavallo
In the Big Shed during LitFest16, I met Toby of Toonsbridge Dairy with two big rounds of cheese over his shoulder, one to the front, one to the rear. “I’m like the horse,” he joked. And, having read a piece on their website a few days earlier, I knew that he was talking about his Cacio Cavallo, now our current Taste of the Week.


It is a cow's milk cheese, made in Toons Bridge by their Italian cheesemaker Franco.  Translated it means "horse cheese", as it is traditionally tied in pairs and transported to market by pack horse. No horse in the Big Shed at Ballymaloe so Toby took over! That’s what stallholders do.


Cacio Cavallo is the cheese of Southern Italy. It is, like mozzarella and scamorza, made from raw milk with the addition of whey starters. It is ripened and, when ready after some hours, stretched in boiling water.
We bought a big slice - it is cut on the length from the five or six kilo round - and enjoyed every bit. Cracks appeared on the paste and it comes away in soft slivers, beautiful and creamy. You’ll read that the Piccante version - one of  our Toons Bridge versions - has a spicy background but it is quite mild.
Must try the Dulce version, as it looks very much like the Spanish Tetella.


Toons Bridge Macroom Co Cork

Contact:
087 3457790 (texts work as well)
or by email toonsbridgeshop@therealoliveco.com
Toons Bridge cheeses at Ballymaloe Litfest16

Monday, May 30, 2016

Ballinwillin House & Farm. Where the deer and the wild boar roam.

Ballinwillin House & Farm
Where the deer and the wild boar roam
We are in a country town. We have been feeding the deer and checking on the goats and Wild Boar pigs. Time now for a drink in the Hungarian wine-cellar. A red, appropriately named Young Bull, goes down well. It is made from the Hungarian grape Kékfrancos.

Back to the main house now for dinner which will start with a plate of charcuterie, all from the farm. The mains will feature both venison and pig. The southern town is Mitchelstown and we are having the time of our lives in Ballinwillin House (built in 1727 by the local Earl of Kingston for the famous agriculturalist Sir Arthur Young).

One of the pucks
When we arrived in the late afternoon, we were welcomed by Patrick Mulcahy. Patrick and his wife Miriam have been owners since 1985. The estate once had 1240 acres but the Mulcahy’s are doing very well indeed with 162 acres, divided into various parcels. In 1985, they started with the house and 16 acres.

The first thing you notice when you come through the gate is the herd of deer in the nearby field. Patrick told us the original deer were brought in from Hungary and there are now 850 of them. The field we were looking at had about twenty five, a “small harem” for the single stag. What we didn't see though were the first of this season’s “babies”. Just born and about the size of a hare, they were hidden away in the long grass of a far corner by the cautious mothers but they will be out and about in a few days.
The young ones
After that we were taken to see a small herds of goats and then the Wild Boar pigs and their young. To see more about the Wild Boar and how they came back to Ireland check out this Ear To The Ground feature on Ballinwillin.

Patrick, from West Limerick originally, has some more “ordinary” animals too, including cattle. We saw a mother and her newly born twins. The birth had been very tough on all three but tender care and no little muscle from the Mulcahy's saw them all pull through. They were on the point of calling the vet but didn't have to. Indeed, the vet is rarely involved here as the operation is organic and healthy.
All calm for the twins after a tough start to life
And those healthy meats, most of which are sold online by the way but also to hotels and chefs, are used in the house for entertaining. They have nine rooms for B&B, six of them in a courtyard and three in the house itself. They also entertain groups with a convivial start usually made in the wine-cellars built for Patrick by some of his Hungarian friends.

He has made many friends in Hungary over the years and that is how the wine came into it, a wine that is now combined with the other produce of the farm. His wines in Hungary are bottled under the Chateau Mulcahy label and there too you’ll see a deer silhouette. The wine names are usually in honour of relations or friends: Clos de John Patrick, Amy Rose, South Winds (after a friend’s house).
A big welcome
from Patrick
The Kékfrancos is a native Hungarian grape but most of the others are the familiar international grapes such as Chardonnay, Merlot (for the rosé), Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc for example. All in all 14 wines, including a dessert one, are available so you’ll have plenty of choice either in the atmospheric cellar or in the dining hall. 

The cellars are dimly lit and not very big but that just tends to get people closer to one another, all the better to smile and chat and laugh. You won't be checking the colour of your wine - but you sure will be enjoying it and the occasion. Indeed, you may book a cellar visit as a standalone.


In the cellar
The high roofed dining room was our next call - we were with a group of about twenty from the Munster Wine & Dine. Starter was a generous plate of charcuterie, all from the farm, all delicious.

Hard to beat the mains. Miriam is well able to turn her hand to virtually any hearty meat dish and on this occasion we enjoyed a five star Venison Bourguignon with all the trimmings. About halfway though that, a stuffed fillet of Wild Boar was added to each plate. More wine was ordered and we were on a roll!
Dessert, Miriam’s Raspberry Cake, arrived in due course.  Then a little sing-song broke out - Patrick chipped in with There’s An Isle - and it was a very happy gang that trooped into our bus back to the city.

  • The brilliant day out had started with a visit to the Grubb family farm at Beechmount, near Fethard, the home of Cashel Blue and other beautiful cheeses. Read all about it here
  • If you’d like to join the fun with Munster Wine & Wine, please send email to mwdcircle@gmail.com

Monday, February 8, 2016

Taste of the Week. Cashel Blue

Taste of the Week

Cashel Blue
When I’m looking for a blue cheese, I rarely venture beyond Cashel. Here, the Grubb family are famous for Cashel Blue (cows) and Crozier Blue (sheep). Of course I’ve tried many of the other Irish blues and very good they are too. Some French ones too.

Indeed, it was in France, a few years ago, that I once had reason to fly the Irish flag. In a wine shop in Rasteau, a lady was giving me a tasting of their sweet red wine, recommending I pair it with my Stilton. I couldn't stay quiet on that one and so told her all about our very own Cashel. She was unfazed, started her sales speech again and told me to pair it with Cashel Blue! As if it was all her own idea. We had a good laugh, a very enjoyable visit and left with a few cases of their Cotes du Rhone and a few bottles of the Rasteau vdn.

I was lucky in the days before Christmas to win a cheese hamper from Sheridan's Cheese and the biggest piece in the box was a mature Cashel Blue, our Taste of the Week. Blue for sure but contained in that marvellous irresistible creaminess from the well watered grass of Tipperary. This Cashel Blue Extra Mature "is selected and matured to be creamy and buttery, with perfectly integrated blue flavour". I reckon the Grubbs and the Sheridans have this spot-on!

One of the great blues. No wonder it is so popular in Ireland. Indeed, it is sold all over the world including in dozens of outlets in France (mainly in Paris). Stockists here.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Albarino. Wine of the Celtic Fringe and the Spanish King.

Albariño. Wine of the Celtic Fringe and the Spanish King.

Albariño, from the green lands of Galicia, has become a very popular wine in recent years. Across the River Mino, the Portuguese call it Alvarinho and use it as the major component (sometimes the only grape) in Vinho Verde.

The Rias Baixas wine region of Galicia, where the indented coastline is a major feature of this Celtic fringe of Spain, is the home of Albariño, and there are a number of sub zones. Condado do Tea is the warmest and this is where the Senorio de Rubios comes from, while the Segrel and the Codax are from the cooler and wetter Val do Salnes. O Rosal is another sub zone, to the south west. Here, you could do worse than look out for Terras Gauda.
Hamper!
I was lucky enough to win three of the wines below (the Codax is the exception) in a pre-Christmas online competition run by Food and Wine from Spain (Ireland) and they invited me to drink like a king! The King of Spain chose Albariño wines to celebrate his marriage.

With its aromas of honeysuckle, citrus, ripe melon, peach, pear, among other exotic fruits, it is the perfect drink to enjoy with friends during the summer. But not bad in the middle of winter either, as I found out these past few days.

It pairs well with a wide range of cuisines and Food and Wine from Spain tell me it “works fantastically with Indian, Asian and Mexican food”.

“The hand picked grapes that go into Albariño wines are carefully tended to by the winemakers in Rias Baixas. Over half these winemakers are women, representing the highest figure of female producers in any wine producing region.”

Finest Wines of Rioja (2011) debunked a popular misconception that these wines are meant to be drunk within one year of the vintage. “..a quality Albariño, bottled during the the first spring after harvest, with a balanced structure relying on fresh acidity and  a good mineral character, will be at its best after its second spring and will continue growing in bottle for some years.”
Tetella cheese (DO)

In Grapes and Wines (Oz Clarke & Margaret Rand), Albariño is hailed as the grape that “brings flavour in bucketfuls to the white wines of northwestern Iberia”. And they go on to tell us that Albariño is “by far Spain’s most fashionable white variety, particularly when grown in Rias Baixas..”

The coastal landscape is neatly summed up in the World Atlas of Wine: “..the landscape is exceptional for Spain: irregular Atlantic inlets called rías, which are effectively shallow fjords, lined with hills that are densely forested with local pine and rapacious eucalyptus imported in the 1950s.” The green Spain.


  • Did a fair bit of reading from authoritative sources for this post and most seem to agree that three of the top producers are: Fillaboa (imported by Wines Direct), Le Val and Pazo de Senorans (O’Brien’s).


Segrel Ambar Albariño 2014, 12.5%
Bright gold in colour, it has intense aromas (fruity, floral, and definity herbaceous). It is not shy on the palate either. The intense fruit is immediately obvious as is its viscosity. That fruit though is well balanced by the acidity and then it also has a superb elegant finish. A super Albariño and Very Highly Recommended. If you like a “bold” wine go for this one, if you prefer something more restrained then try the Mario Sanzo. You might need to try both to be sure!
Segrel is the name given to a travelling medieval poet and this wine, in its Burgundy bottle, is indeed harmonious, a most pleasant balance of flavour and acidity. May have the edge on the Senorio de Rubios.


Imported by Woods Wines Ltd.

Mario Sanzo Albariño 2014, 12.5%.

Bright in the glass with a pale gold colour. Similar to the Segrel Ambar even if not quite as intense, it has a very pleasant aroma combination of fruit, floral and herbaceous notes. Viscosity feels a bit above average. Full bodied, mineral and fruity, with a stronger acidity at play here, perhaps reflecting the proximity of the vineyard to the bracing Atlantic. Overall, it is very well balanced indeed, a very refreshing wine, restrained and refined and Very Highly Recommended.

Sanzo are hardly a typical Rias Baixas producer in that they produce wines all across Spain, even in Portugal.


SEÑORÍO DE RUBIÓS ALBARIÑO
Señorío De Rubiós Albariño 2013, 12.5%,
Got off to a poor start with this one!
My three bottles were accompanied by a Spanish cows milk cheese, called Tetella, and I paired the two, thinking that since both were from Galicia, they would match well. I thought I was on a winner but it didn't work. Not a win, win! Just the opposite. 

Yet, a quick separation later and I had two winners. The unusually shaped cheese is mild and pleasant to eat. It can be enclosed in the local roasted peppers (there was a jar in the hamper!) or used with a little bit of relish (such as the redcurrant and port wine by Lakeshore).

The wine, with its healthy looking light gold colour (tints of green there too), was superb on its own. It has attractive aromas with both floral and fruit elements. On the palate it is fresh, full of white fruit flavours, terrific structure and viscosity and a long dry minerally finish. Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Seen this at €16.99 online at the Black Pig Dublin

Martin Codax Albariño 2013, 12.5%, €16.70 Karwig Wines
A lovely light gold is the colour here. Aromas are intense, not quite as much as the Segrel though the same elements - floral, fruity, herbaceous - are all present. No shortage of citrus-y fruits on the palate, quite a bracing acidity here and then that long minerally finish. Ideal for those Atlantic shellfish and Highly Recommended.


Below, I have added the winery’s tasting notes. Do you like the names of their three steps?


"The Martin Codax winery, named after one of the most important medieval Galician troubadours, was founded in 1986 thanks to the idea of a group of winegrowers; as a winery made by people for the people. Set up by 270 members, the winery also relies on the collaboration of 300 families whose grapes are supplied to us. As a big family, we work together in order to ensure our wines have the highest possible quality."


TASTING NOTES

VISUAL STEP

Clean, bright lemon yellow with greenish reflections
OLFACTORY STEP
Medium intensity with ripe citrus notes file type and tangerine. Predominant note floral (hawthorn, jasmine and orange blossom) and a herbal background type hay.
GUSTATORY STEP
Envelope, fresh and good balance. The aftertaste reminds the note of ripe citrus.




Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Quelle Fromage! Bradley’s Cheese Board

Quelle Fromage!

Bradley’s Cheese Board
It’s late in the evening and you are supposed to have the cheese board under control. You had this one job and blew it! Maybe not. In a flash of inspiration, you remember that Bradley’s in North Main Street (Cork) are open when the cheese specialists are closed. And, to make it even better, Bradley’s have quite a selection, including Watermelon Rind Pickle (by Passion Preserves) that you won't find everywhere!

You’ve been told not to overdo the number of cheeses, four has even been mentioned as a max. So okay, let's take a look at the shelves here. Maybe start with a soft cheese. It's okay to mix the milks. And you spot the Ardsallagh Goats Cheese from East Cork. Chalk it down. If you think your guests might prefer a cow’s cheese, then Cooleeney is your man (maybe I should say woman!).
Wheels of freshly made cheese at Lonergan's Knockanore farm
Now to pick a semi-soft cheese. The choice is large here and the quality is high. Pick from three West Cork classics: Durrus Og, young Gubbeen or Milleens. Not easy.

Now, we’re onto the harder cheeses and Bradley’s carry various offerings at this level from Knockanore, Bandon Vale and Carrigaline. You’ve been warned not to include flavoured cheeses so that cuts the choice a bit. How about a change of colour here, Leicester from Bandon Vale or Red Cheddar by West Waterford’s Knockanore. Then again, many would be thrilled with Hegarty’s Mature Cheddar.
Can’t have a cheese board without a blue onboard. Many good ones now in Ireland though my favourites are still the Tipperary pair of Cashel (cows) and Crozier (sheep). But neither is available at Bradley’s, but happy to pick the Wicklow Blue. The cow's milk cheese has the rind pierced and the Penicillium roqueforti begins its work. Sheridan’s new book says this type of hybrid blue, moist and soft, “is a great introduction for those who find the traditional blue cheeses a little too strong.”

You’ll also need some bread and crackers. Bradley’s are stockists for Arbutus and their sourdough is a favourite with cheese. No shortage of crackers here either. Among others, you’ll find the Sheridans range, the chunky Gubbeen Cheese Oatcakes and the Carrigaline Cheese Biscuits made by Seymour’s of Bandon.

Chutneys in Bradley’s include:
Sheridan's range (Chutney for Cheese, Onion Marmalade, Chutney for Everything,
Christmas Chutney).
A great range too from Passion Preserved, including a fab Watermelon Rind Pickle, which is great with blue cheese!
Now you have everything you need and the guests are due in about half an hour or so. Where’s the cheese? In the fridge? Get it out, quick - you need to serve it at room temperature. Just before the doorbell starts to ring, cut that cheese (avoids leaving the mess that can happen if everyone cuts their own bits). Cut yours into wedges and strips (making sure the rind is evenly distributed), taking your cue where practical from the original shape.

And remember, when the compliments start coming in, that you got all this in Bradley’s in something of an emergency. Next time, why not consider the North Main Street shop for your cheese even if there is no emergency.

I’ve confined the cheeseboard to Irish products but there are also some international stars available in the venerable shop, founded as a dairy in 1850, including classics such as Mont D’Or (we had fun with that last week…), Parmigiana Reggiana, Stilton, and Manchego.

And cheese is just one of the many Irish artisan products available here and that’s all before you ever hit the off-licence at the back where you have wines from all over the world and beers and spirits (many of them Irish) galore.

The Bradley’s Cheeseboard
1 - Ardsallagh Goats Cheese
2 - Gubbeen (young, unsmoked)
3- Knockanore Vintage Red Cheddar.
4- Wicklow Blue

Seymour’s of Bandon Cheese Biscuits.
Passion Preserved Watermelon Rind Pickle (great with the blue).
Sheridan’s Chutney for Cheese.
Lisanley Honey (also in Bradley’s) for drizzling.
A few grapes and thin slices of apple will also be appreciated.
We’ll leave the wine and the beer, maybe a port, up to you (no shortage of the drinks or indeed advice in Bradley’s)