Taste of the Week. Choice of three

Taste of the Week. 

Choice of three.

Choose one, or all three!

I've been enjoying some superb Irish-made cheese in recent weeks. It is tough to pick one as Taste of the Week so I'll highlight all

three here, all from On the Pig's Back.

1 - Boyne Valley Bán

This is a white goat’s cheese, similar in style to the French Tomme cheese (also stocked by On the Pig's Back). In 2018, Boyne Valley Bán won gold and ‘Best Irish Cheese’ in the British Cheese Awards, received 3 stars, and was nominated for a ‘Golden Fork’ award in the Great Taste Awards.

This is a delightful cheese made on Mullagha Farm by the Finegan family from milk produced by their own goats (they have 300 milkers!). It has a waxy, gouda-style rind, and the flavours are slightly sharp and salty with a real goat milk tang. Well worth exploring this semi-hard cheese.

2 - Durrus

Durrus Cheese is a classic semi-soft cheese, another multi-award winner. The flavour of the Durrus can range from mild, mellow and grassy when young to rich, strong and earthy when aged. The original recipe was created by the pioneering Jeffa Gill in 1979.

The cheese is now in its 5th decade and produced by daughter and mother Sarah Hennessy and Jeffa , with Ann McGrath and the rest of the team continuing their invaluable roles in producing the award-winning artisan cheeses. The top-quality milk has been sourced from Corney and John Buckley’s herd of Friesian cows for over three decades, and also from Noel Dukelow's herd on the shores of Dunmanus Bay. 

3 - Kylemore, Co. Galway

Teresa Roche's family has been farming their land in the Slieve Aughty Mountains for over 200 years and they are now the proud makers of Kylemore Farmhouse Cheese. The unique award-winning cheese is inspired by the Swiss Alps.

The outstanding cheese boasts a good depth of unique flavours, lasting notes of mild nutty creamy buttery flavours, with a natural handmade rind with a smooth texture. It is similar to Gruyére style cheese and may be found on the Cheese list of Ashford Castle. 

I first tasted this striking semi-hard cheese at the recent Ballymaloe Food Fest and immediately bought myself a decent wedge. It too is an award winner and is handmade with their own pedigree cows' fresh summer milk on their farm in the foothills of the Sliabh Aughty mountains.