2009 World Cheese Awards – Category 57 – Very Hard Cheese; Not in Any Other Category

2009 World Cheese Awards

You can view all 2009 World Cheese Award Winners at the official website by clicking here.

57: Very hard cheese not in any other class

award	entry	entered by	phone number
GOLD	Sartori Romano	Sartori Food Corporation	001 920 449 7963
GOLD	Queso Izuy Duro Pasterizado Vaca y Cabra	Juan Suarez E Hijos S.L	00 34 928 671785
SILVER	Queso Manchego DO Viejo “Don Cayo”	Queserias Villamayor S.L.	0034 969 138 000
SILVER	Sartori Reserve Aged Romano	Sartori Food Corporation	001 920 449 7963
SILVER	Sartori Parmesan	Sartori Food Corporation	001 920 449 7963
SILVER	Sartori Reserve SarVecchio Parmesan	Sartori Food Corporation	001 920 449 7963
SILVER	A?jo de Oveja	Queseria Elbosque, S.C.A	0034 956 716 156
BRONZE	Viejo de Oveja	QUESOS ARTESANOS PAJARETE	0034 678 415 381
BRONZE	Queso Zona Norte de Oveja Viejo	Manuel Hernandez Bolanos S.L.	00 34 928 331800
BRONZE	3yr old Goatsmilk cheese, fresh milk rennet, sea salt, olive oil, sweet paprika produced by Iden	Queso La Cabezada	0034 922 141910
BRONZE	American Grana	Bel Gioioso Cheese Inc	001 920 863 2123
BRONZE	Copper kettle Parmesan produced by Lake Country Dairy	Arthur Schuman Inc	001 973 787 8836

Roth Kase GranQueso Spanish-Style Cheese

Roth Kase GranQueso

Winner: 2009 ACS Cheese Awards: First Place: Hispanic and Portguese Cheeses

When The Lady (and I) went to Wisconsin in late April, GranQueso (“Big Cheese”) is one of the cheeses she made on the final day of the trip. For some reason Roth Kase has a rule prohibiting felines, even this one of the foodie persuasion, from hanging out on the cheesemaking floor…go figure…

This sweet, nutty tasting cheese is a Spanish-style cheese that is a perfect alternative to Manchego or Iberico. The Iberians should take note…I wonder if there has been a dip in sales since GranQueso came on the cheese scene…

GranQueso is a hard, dry cheese and is the “Featured Cheese of the Week” at The Lady’s kiosk this week. Stop by and enjoy a tasting and take some home.

The Lady posted a recipe using GranQueso at our “sister” blog: Sourdough Bread with Marinated GranQueso and Divina Roasted Peppers. This is perfect tapas offering to treat yourself and impress your friends.

This is The Lady holding GranQueso right after she put it into the cheese hoop (mould) to give the cheese the desired shape and basket-finish.

The Lady with Her GranQueso

In addition to helping take the milk through the process to make curds to pressing into the moulds, The Lady also followed this cheese through the six month process until it is ready to “go to market”. You might notice the cheese she is holding is snow white and the finished cheese is a rich burnt orange. This color was achieved by “painting” the outside with a combination of spices and cayenne pepper and then sealing with a food glaze. This was one of the tasks The Lady performed while at Roth Kase.

The cheese The Lady made is currently aging at Roth Kase and will be sold at her kiosk and the kiosks throughout the system mid-November.

You can enjoy this cheese now by visiting your favorite Cheesemonger. Can you guess who my favorite Cheesemonger is???

This Feline Foodie gives GranQueso 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: GranQueso makes a wonderful addition to any cheese platter. It works well shaved on salads and melts well on a grilled cheese. It pairs well with Jamon Serrano and if you want to really treat yourself, pair it with a slice of Jamon Iberico.

Wine Pairing: You want to pair this with a Tempranillo grape wine and Southern Oregon’s Abacela Vineyard makes a terrific Tempranillo from the Umpqua Valley.

Beer Pairing: Oregon’s Heater Allen Pils

Source: Wisconsin Cow Milk

Awards:  2004, 2005, 2006 American Cheese Society - 1st Place       

               2005, 2006 World Cheese Awards – Gold Medal

Saying Goodbye to Piave Vecchio

Piave Vecchio

Certain cheeses are good and yet, for whatever reason (usually money and marketing) they just don’t sell well. Piave Vecchio is one of those cheeses that The Lady can’t seem to make popular. Even with aggressive sampling, Piave just doesn’t fly out the door the way Parmigano-Reggiano does.

Made by a dairy cooperative in the Piave River Valley of Italy, this hard cheese is made from pasteurized cow’s milk and shaped into wheels. It has a dense texture and is straw-colored. Once it is aged, it becomes hard, suitable for grating and tastes slightly sweet, much like a young Parmesan.

Because it is a grating cheese, The Lady likes to use it as an alternative to Grana Padano or Asiago.

Saying goodbye is the result of the cheese being removed from inventory by the corporate “folks” and while The Lady hates to say goodbye to this fine Italian cheese, she understands the reasons.

Arrivedeci, Piave Vecchio, Lei sarà mancato.

This feline foodie gives Piave Vecchio 4 Paws out of 4 Paws.

Serving Suggestons: Grated on Pasta dishes and excellent in risotto and polenta.

Wine  Pairings: Full-bodied white such as a Chardonnay and medium-bodies reds such as Merlot or Zinfandel.

Beer Pairings: Belgium Fat Tire Ale

Source: Cow’s Milk

Denhay Farmhouse Cheddar

 A new cheese arrived this week at The Lady’s Kiosk: Denhay Farmhouse Cheddar from the Marshwood Vale in the West Country of England.

This award-winning cheese has been made on the Denhay Farm since 1959 using traditional skills and techniques that have been used for generations and results in a consistently high-quality cheddar.

The Lady brought a small wedge home for her favorite feline foodie(that would be me!!) to sample and review and I gotta tell you, this is one happy feline foodie…It is bandage-wrapped and that adds to its distinctive nutty yet mellow flavor. It has a smooth texture, with just a bit of the crumbliness of a cheddar. It is a mature cheddar that is aged in wooden boxes for up to a year. That year fully develops the flavor. You won’t be disappointed in this cheddar.

A little bit about the farm. At Denhay every one of the 1000 Holstein cows have their own mattress. The five herds were selected for the high protein quality of their milk. The welfare of the cows is audited independently by the RSPCA’s Freedom Foods scheme. In the summer the cows graze the grass and the farm has cow-friendly tracks for the cows to get to the fields. Surplus grass to the grazing is made into silage for storage as winter feed. The silage naturally ferments and is easily digested by the cows. In addition, the farm also grows corn and wheat for cow feed. In the winter when it is too cold and wet for the cows to go outside, they are kept inside and fed the grass, wheat and corn silage. They add wheat and soya cereal for supplements to their winter diet. All of the milk produced by the 1000 cows is used on the farm to produce the cheese and butters.

Simon Hill, the Farm Director, is the one person responsible for everything from breeding to feeding to the welfare of the cows. My hat (if I had one) would go off to Denhay for their responsible care of their herds.

This feline foodie gives Denhay Farmhouse Cheddar 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got) and because I think the farm is totally cool when it comes to the welfare of its animals, I’m adding a little tail-wagging as well.

Serving Suggestions: this cheddar goes quite well with grilled Marmota vancouverensis; however, The Lady has warned me that this tasty tidbit is on the endangered species list and I should take it off my “wish list”…sheesh…This cheddar also goes well with apples, pears, walnuts and Marcona Almonds (of course, Marcona Almonds go with anything…after all, they are fried…what’s not to like). You can melt it on toast; you can shred it and use it in mac n cheese or any other dish that calls for cheddar. It makes a mighty fine grilled cheese.

Wine Pairings: Meritage, Shiraz, Zinfandel.

Beer Pairings: Pale Ale

Source: Holstein Cows

Awards: 2008 – no less than 25 awards around the world

Wisconsin – Day 2 – BelGioioso – Bellevue Plant

Marcella and Gaetano

After the tour of the Chase Plant, we traveled to BelGioioso’s Bellevue Plant, also in the middle of nowhere.

This Plant makes that divine Burrata cheese that Spaulding gray reviewed recently. 

Again, we were divided into two groups. I was lucky enough to be in the group led by Gaetano, the son of the founder of BelGioioso. Gaetano was three when his parents immigrated to the US to make Italian cheeses in America. When Gaetano learned of Spaulding Gray’s love of Burrata, he was quite impressed by SG’s “expensive and refined tastes”.

The tour began with the fresh mozzarella. We watched the entire process from adding the starter to slicing (into sixteen slices)and packaging of the fresh one pound log  – perfect for Caprese salad.

Next we watched the making of provolone. We toured the aging room – thousands of cylinders and specialty shapes including pyramids and pear-shaped were hanging.

We also toured the room where ricotta and their newer item, ricotta salata are made. BelGioioso makes their ricotta salata with cow’s milk rather than sheep. And SG’s suspicions were confirmed when Gaetano stated that they used cows’ milk because there were almost no sheep in Wisconsin.

After the tour, we were taken to the corporate offices and treated to lunch and what a lunch it was. We started with a cheese plate that had Burrata, Mascarpone, Provolone, Asiago, Parmesan, Fresh Mozzarella and creamy gorgonzola. On the table were wedges and containers of all their other cheeses and we were encouraged to taste them. It didn’t take much to encourage these cheeseheads. We tried American Grana, Tiramisu Mascarpone, Italico, Crescenza-Stracchino, Pepato and several others.

After the wonderful cheese plate, which really could have been a meal itself, we were served a field green salad with sugared walnuts and gorgonzola, Pizza Marguerite, farfalla pasta with Fontina, asparagus and mushrooms, and baked tenderloin. The meal ended with my favorite, Tiramisu…bellissimo!!

It was quite a wonderful morning hanging with the BelGioioso (pronounced Bell Joy Oh So)…arrivederci to a wonderful family of cheeses…we will meet again soon…most likely this evening…our parting gift was a thermal carrying case that contained a half pound wedge of American Grana…

Up Next: Day 3 – Roth Kase and Cheesemaking 101

Wisconsin – Day 2 – BelGioioso – Chase Plant

The Lady has decided to write about the next two days in Wisconsin…so…heeeeeere’s The Lady…

First of all, I want to thank my company and specifically John and Cheryl for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime for this cheesemonger. What a fabulous trip and learning experience. I also want to thank the cheesemakers who welcomed us to their plants: BelGioioso, Crave Brothers and Roth Kase. I want to add a special thanks to Deb and Robert from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board who put the trip together.

Wednesday began at 8am when we boarded a motor coach for the BelGioioso Chase Plant somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the country side of Wisconsin outside Green Bay. The land is flat and dotted with dairy farms and silos (I never saw a single goat or sheep…). It was a chilly but clear morning. After getting lost, even though the bus driver had a GPS (turns out it had NOT be updated recently), we arrived at the Chase plant and were met by the Plant Manager. This plant makes most of the hard, table cheeses that BelGioioso has developed after the Italian cheeses with the same names. The plant has just finished making Parmesan and had started production of Asiago. As you may recall from one of Spaulding gray’s earlier blog entries, the founder of BelGioioso immigrated to the US in 1979 with the express purpose of making world-class Italian cheeses in America.

We were divided into two groups and my group was guided by the Plant Manager who is also a licensed Cheesemaker. Of the thirty-five employees at the Chase Plant, seven are licensed by the State of Wisconsin to make cheese. Wisconsin is the only state that has a licensing program for cheesemakers. The first step is to apprentice for a minimum of eighteen months with a cheesemaker. Then there are university-level courses you must take and finally you must take and pass a three-hour test given at the University of Wisconsin.

Once you have become a licensed cheesemaker, you can, after another ten years of cheesemaking, become a Master Cheesemaker which requires more university-level courses and testing including a rigorous oral exam given by college professors. A Master Cheesemaker can only apply for a license to make two different cheeses each time they apply for the license.

Our tour began in the room where the wheels are formed after the milk has coagulated to form its curds. This is a two-step process. After the separated milk is pumped into the vat and reaches the desired temperature, a starter is added. (The milk is separated from the cream and the cream is used for other cheese and milk products.)The starter consists of bacteria cultures necessary to start the cheesemaking process. After a specific amount of time, rennet is added and the coagulation begins. When the desired coagulation is reached, the curds are cut and both the curds and whey are pumped into a table where the curds are separated from the whey and formed into the desired shapes for the cheese being made. The whey is pumped off and used for various purposes including field feed and dry whey protein which is used in a variety of everyday items from protein bars to cosmetics. The water is separated out, polished and returned for other uses in the plant. Nothing is wasted.

One of the impressive aspects of all three cheesemaking companies that we visited was the level of commitment to recycling. Almost nothing is tossed away; everything is used and re-used.  Another impressive feature is how incredibly clean these facilities are kept. The term “cleaning as you go along” was never truer than in a cheesemaking plant.

From the cheesemaking room we were taken to the brine vats where the wheels are placed after the initial forming and drying. Depending on the style of cheese being made, the cheese may soak in the brine for several hours or several days. The brine bath has three important components; it removes moisture from the cheese; adds flavor to the cheese; and helps create and develop the rind. Because the cheese is floating in the brine, employees come along on a regular schedule and turn the wheels to keep the brining process uniform on all sides. Also, again recycling is foremost in the minds of the cheesemakers. The brine is recycled; cleaned and used over and over. At any given time, there is over 650K gallons of brine being used in the plant. As the salt is absorbed into the cheese, salt is added back into the brine to keep the desired saline level at all times.

I noticed is how labor-intensive and hands-on the cheesemaking process is at each of the plants we visited. When people ask why cheese is so expensive, I can now answer honestly that I wonder why it doesn’t cost more. There is a lot of time and labor that goes into making cheese.

After removal from the brine, the cheese wheels are taken to a drying room and placed on racks where they continue to dry and age. Again, employees come along on a regular schedule and turn and flip the wheels. Again, it’s amazing how much detail goes into making high-quality specialty cheeses.

This plant uses about one million pounds of milk per day from local farmers. Depending on the cheese, it takes between ten and fourteen pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. BelGioioso has five plants; all of which use approximately the same amount of cheese everyday and cheesemaking is a 24-7-365 business.

The milks are co-mingled but detailed records are kept regarding which farmer delivered what milk to the truck and plant. Field samples are taken when the milk is pumped into the truck and tested upon arrival at the plant. If one of the milks tests badly, that farmer ends up buying the entire load of milk rather than selling his day’s yield. This is certainly one incentive to making sure your milk is good. Also, based on this same rigorous testing, the price paid to the farmer for his milk is determined. The higher the quality of the cheese, the higher the premium paid to the farmer. In other words, the better the milk; the more the farmer makes. Yet another incentive to produce quality milk.

Another facet of the testing has to do with antibiotics that have been given cows when they are sick. Cows get sick and must be treated. But antibiotics are bad in the cheesemaking process. In addition to the general public not wanting to ingest unnecessary antibiotics, the presence of antibiotics in milk can kill the cultures needed to start the cheesemaking process. The cow that is being treated is pulled from the line and her milk is not used until her milk tests clean…yes even cows are subject to workplace drug-testing. The plant has a chart that lists the cows receiving antibiotics and when the day arrives to return them to the line, their milk is sent separately to the plant to check and make sure it is clean. On a small farm that cow might be listed as “Rosie”; but on a larger farm, the cow is merely a number on an ear tag. After testing the plant tells the farmer the cow can or cannot be put back on-line.

A couple of asides here.

The milk at this plant is not pasteurized. Pasteurization requires that milk be heated to 162-164° and held there for sixteen seconds. The state tests and seals the vats when pasteurization is being used. The reason that the cheese in this plant is not pasteurized is because all of the cheese made here will be aged more than sixty days.

And beginning in August of this year, the Chase Plant will begin producing and selling to our company our private label of Parmesans, Asiagos and Romano cheeses in wedges and shredded or shaved cups.

And finally one bit of trivia: Romano cheese must be cured and dried in a separate room from the other cheeses due to its pungent smell. If you dry Romano with Parmesan, then the Parmesan will absorb some of the Romano smell and will change the taste. If you dry Parmesan cheese in a room filled with Romano, the Parmesan will taste like Romano.

Up next: BelGioioso Bellevue Plant and Lunch.

The BelGioioso Family of Cheeses – Part Two – The Hard Cheeses of BelGioioso

T Minus Four Days and Counting…You can still vote and comment about whether you think The Lady should take me to Wisconsin by clicking here…cast your votes…

Mathilda, my new love, has voted that I stay in Vancouver and let The Lady do her own thing in Wisconsin. Your caring is causing me great distress…what to do??? What to do??? The Lady says the voting is close and she will continue to review the votes and comments through Monday before she makes her final decision. (I am already packed and ready to go…Mathilda…please understand that if I do go, I shall return to you…you can trust me…)

In 1979 Errico Auricchio moved his family from Italy to the United States with the single goal of making great Italian cheeses in the tradition that his family had honored for over a century.

In Part One, I reviewed Provolone, American Grana, Mascarpone and Fontina. In Part Two, I will review the other Hard Italian cheeses that Errico makes at BelGioioso.

Asiago

 

 

Asiago

 

 

This is a favorite of The Lady. She takes a couple of bones (the rind) of Asiago and tosses them into her marinara sauce to take it to a new level. She has a customer at the kiosk who buys both Asiago and Parmesan bones to add to sauces and soups. This client and his wife are adopting a vegetarian life style and the flavor from the bones helps them make the transition.

Asiago is aged at least five months and has a sweet and nutty flavor. It is made from part skim milk. In 2008 this Belgioioso cheese won third Place at the American Cheese Society Awards.

I give Asiago 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: As mentioned above, toss some of the rind into your favorite marinara sauce or soup for added flavor. This cheese makes an excellent table cheese and is perfect for snacking. Cube this cheese and toss it with pasta. You can top it with crusty Italian bread with charcuterie, artichoke hearts, olives and sprinkle with olive oil for a tasty Italian sandwich. You can shred it on pizza, bagels, breadsticks and broil to melt the cheese. You can add Asiago to dips and serve with your favorite crudités. Grill veggies and sprinkle Asiago on top with a little olive oil. I find that tossing Asiago with a little sautéed Mustela nivalis (not to be confused the two-legged species that populate too many workplaces, particularly the US Congress, according to The Lady…certainly not by this feline…) and it is simply bellissimo.

Wine Pairings: Full-bodies red wine.

Beer Pairings: Nut Brown Ale, Malty Brown Ale

Source: Wisconsin Cows’ Milk

Awards: Several since the 1990s including the Third Place noted above.

 

Parmesan

 

 

Parmesan

 

 

Made from skim milk and aged over ten months, this hard cheese is one of the great cheeses of the world. It is used in everyday cooking and also is absolutely the best as a table cheese. The Lady loves to let it sit out for an hour and then serve it with grapes and pears. Like Asiago, it is sweet, buttery and nutty to taste. Even though it is hard, it crumbles well when sitting at room temperature.

I give Parmesan 4 Paws out of Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: The best known sauce is Alfredo and before the diet, The Lady made an Alfredo sauce that brought tears to The Man’s eyes. She tossed pasta, frozen peas (which warm up enough from the heats of the pasta and the sauce and require NO cooking before adding) and julienned Boar’s Head Sweet-sliced ham with her Alfredo sauce. Easy, simple; yet elegant…I miss the good ole days before that damned diet… mix Parmesan into mashed potatoes; top asparagus and bake it; sprinkle grilled veggies; grilled chicken…just about any entrée can benefit from adding Parmesan. With fruit, it makes a terrific light dessert.

Wine pairings: Oaked merlot, Meritage blends

Beers pairings: A Marzen lager

Source: Cow juice

 

Romano

 

 

Romano

 

 

Another hard Italian cheese from BelGioioso that is aged five months and possesses a strong, sharp taste that makes it one of the more popular Italian cheeses. In 2004 and again in 2008, the American Cheese Society awarded BelGioioso Romano cheese First Place – Best of Class. Again, as with most hard Italian cheeses, Romano is a versatile cheese and makes most dishes better when added.

I give Romano 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: You haven’t lived until you have added Romano to your favorite mac n cheese. This cheese goes well in risotto; add it to your bread and pizza dough; melt it on your favorite veggies and add it to your sauces and soups. Again, you can pretty much do anything with this cheese.

Wine Pairings: Full bodied reds

Beer Pairings: Bohemian Pilsner

Source: Here’s a newsflash…Cows’ Milk

Awards: Best of Class 2004 and 2008 – American Cheese Society

 

I will conclude my reviews of the BelGioioso Family of Cheeses on Sunday.

Tomorrow I will review Beecher’s Flagship Reserve, which The Lady began selling and sampling in the Cheese Kiosk today. She is so in love with this cheese. She brought a piece home for The Man and me. We will have it tomorrow with a glass of appropriate adult beverages and then I will review it.

Mithilda, sleep well tonight and sweet dreams…

The Kerrygold Family of Cheeses – Part Five – Ivernia

Kerrygold's Ivernia

The Man is heading to Southern California this morning so I’ll have a run of the manse during the day the rest of the week. Seemed like a good time to get an early start on my cheese reviews…but before I do, how about this new banner picture. The Lady took it yesterday at her cheese kiosk. She tells me it’s a “work-in-progress” but I thought it was divine…lots of cheese to drool over…

Ivernia from Kerrygold is a hard cheese that you can grate. It is aged for three years to develop its complex, piquant flavors.  You can substitute it for any hard Italian cheese…can’t you just hear the shudder coming from Parma, Italy right now…

Talk about history and cheese. The Iverni were an ancient people of Ireland, settling on the island around 500 BC. The name is thought to have derived from Erin, the ancient Greek mythological name for Ireland, which is itself derived from the word Éire, the name for Ireland in our indigenous Celtic language. The wheels of Ivernia are embedded with an ancient Celtic symbol.

I like this cheese…it’s cheese…what’s not to like and there’s not a goat in sight to screw with the milk that Kerrygold uses…

I give Ivernia 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: Grate it on a pizza (take that Mozzarella); over soup; or augratin potatoes. This cheese would be a terrific addition to any cheese platter.

Wine Pairings: Cabernet or Sangiovese.

Beer: I prefer a nice IPA.

Source: Pasteurized cow’s milk filled with beta carotene and all the other good stuff that the terroir of Ireland has to offer…

Up next: Red Leicester

DPI: Spaulding Gray is Calling You Out

As most of you know by now, this feline foodie says what’s on his mind…but I was surprised to learn that DPI had blocked my blog from viewing by its employees…

I understand the concept of internet filters but what could I have possibly said that offended DPI’s filter or was of such a sexual nature to get gnarled up in their content web?

So I reviewed a few of my entries and wonder which of these comments caught the attention of “the man” in IT:

Was it:

Referring to why Monks invented so many good cheeses, wines and liqueurs: “…here’s a news flash…when you give up sex; there’s nothing left but eating and drinking.”

Maybe this was the one:

Recounting a conversation with The Brain about living with The Lady: “…the bad news was “she’s gonna chop off your balls”.

Perhaps calling the 535 Members of Congress “Rat Ass Bastards” went over the line, regardless of the truthfulness of the statement (The Lady’s feelings, certainly not mine…)

Maybe it was the “Who Cut the Cheese” video clip from Two and a Half Men. Fart jokes seem to delight most humankind males and offend humankind females…this feline foodie’s observation is it has to do with DNA.

Was it revealing that The Lady think Camillo Villegas, a young pro golfer, has a “cute butt”?

It might have been my empathic statement about Copernicus, the “randy” billy goat owned by at Amy, Queen of Cheese, when I stated, “Personally, I understand the dilemma that Copernicus faced – getting laid immediately (strong incentive for any male) or the possibility of the vet neutering you and never getting laid again…what’s a guy to do???”

Hmmm…maybe I do deserve to be censored…nope…I just call em as I see em…

Call your Congressman, a member of the 535 Rat Ass Bastard Club…according to The Lady, and ask them to pass a Bailout Bill for this feline foodie. Better yet, call DPI and tell them to let Spaulding Gray back in the house…

The Kerrygold Family of Cheeses – Part One – Dubliner

Kerrygold Dubliner

 

My apologies to the Irish in each of you that this review didn’t fall on St. Paddy’s Day…no doubt I was napping or hanging out with The Lady – my two most favorite pastimes behind sampling cheese… and chasing my new Beemster Cheese mice (I’ve started leaving those cute little blue mice on The Lady’s pillow while she’s at work…you should see her smile when she spots them. She says it reminds her of the times the legendary Mike Tyson left gophers on the front doormat, minus the blood and guts, of course).  If truth be told, hanging with The Lady is Numero Uno on my “to do” list cause it’s mandated by The Brain as my top priority. Confession time; I would do it anyway…The Lady gives me cheese and hugs and kisses. I also get to sit on her lap and she scratches my ears whenever I ask…except 2am…that’s when she throws me off the bed…

Before I begin my first (of several Kerrygood cheeses and butters) reviews of the sublime Kerrygold Dubliner, here’s a bit of trivia for you: More than ten per cent of the US humankind population (and quite a few Setters, as well) claims to be of Irish descent – about 36 million humankinds. And that figure is about four times the entire population of Ireland. How can that be, you wonder? Don’t ask me: I got nothing…

Let me begin by bringing in the concept of terroir once more. With the Kerrygold cheeses and butters, terroir definitely plays a big part. Every Kerrygold cow, yep every single one of them, roams free in the fresh Irish mist and graze in pastures lush with tender grass. Another bit of trivia, Ireland boasts one of the longest grass seasons in the world which means the cows are out and about more than cows that produce milk for other regional cheeses. The lush green grass, along with the gentle environment produces a milk rich in beta carotene, an organic compound important to humankinds’ health that literally gives Kerrygold butter and cheeses their golden color. So for those de-bunkers of terroir, all I have to say is, you must be circling over Shannon.

Ireland may be close to England; but the Irish cheeses I have sampled bear no resemblance whatsoever to those English clunkers called Caerphilly and Hard Goat Cheddar. The odds are they exist somewhere in a peat bog but you won’t find them in the pot of gold I like to call Kerrygold.

Kerrygold makes several cheeses and butters that The Lady sells at her Kiosk and Cheese Island. I reviewed the Kerrygold Blue in an earlier post and other than to add how delish it is, I’ll let you check out my review.

Back in the day, before The Lady became a Cheese Steward, she, The Man and I lived near beautiful, downtown Burbank, and we often enjoyed Dubliner Cheese from Kerrygold. When she brought it home last week, it brought back lots of memories including when I still had all my body parts. At the time I didn’t understand “the trade-off” The Brain mentioned when he told me I had been promoted into the much-coveted Mike Tyson observation post. The Brain told me the good news was that The Lady will “love you unconditionally”; the bad news was “she’s gonna chop off your balls”…preferring to believe the food dish is always half-full, I suppose the trade-off evened out…digression seems to catch my fancy far too off…back on track…right, Kerrygold Dubliner…

The Lady has always been a foodie and The Man claims part of his initial attraction to her was her culinary talents. (There were other reasons, but that might be crossing a line…) Let’s just stay with food. The Lady loves to cook and The Man loves to eat…you do the math.

Dubliner is a mature cheese that has a bit of a bite, similar to a good Parmigiano-Reggiano…probably just pissed off the Italians with that comment…it also has a hint of sweetness and nuts. It’s just a bit on the crumbly side. It is golden white in color, remember Kerrygold adds no color to their cheeses, except Leicester which I will discuss later, all the color in Kerrygold cheeses comes from nature…aka that terroir thingie.

Once The Lady crumbled Dubliner on top of a baked potato and The Man was pleased with the outcome.

I give Dubliner 4 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving Suggestions: Dubliner makes a Grilled Cheese Sandwich taste like manna from Ireland; add a slice to a plate of bangers and mash; melt it on a steak. The Lady used to add it to her biscuit recipe back in the day before The Diet…now those were the good ole days…when calorie caution was thrown to the wind. Now it’s “little bites; little bites”…sheesh, this feline foodie needs more than “little bites” to maintain the rigors of my napping and observation duties…

Of course, you can never go wrong just having Dubliner on a 34 Degree Sesame Crispbread Cracker.

Wine pairings: Cabernet or an oaky Chardonnay

Beer Pairings: Why, a pint of Guinness, of course…

Source: Free-range Cows