Vegetarian Suitable Cheese & Raw Milk Cheese Chart

The Lady gets a lot of requests for cheeses that meet specific dietary needs. After goat cheese (ych…) the next two most requested cheese categories are “Vegetarian Suitable” and cheeses made from raw milk for those following the raw food lifestyle.

The Lady decided to build a chart to help these two lifestyle enthusiasts enjoy cheese more.

CHEESE	VEGETARIANSUITABLE	RAW/PASTEURIZED	SOURCE
Applewood Ilchester	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Asiago		Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Flagship	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Flagship Reserve	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beechers Marco Polo	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Mustard	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Vlaskaas	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Beemster Xo	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Berthaut Epoisses		Pasteurized
Black RiverGorgonzola	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Bleu d’Auvergne		Pasteurized	Cow
BlueShropshire		Pasteurized	Cow
BlueberryStilton	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Brescianella Aged
CabecousFeuilles		Pasteurized	Goat
Cablanca Goat Gouda	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
Caerphilly Somerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cahill’s IrishPorter	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cambozola	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cantalet	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Castello Blue			Cow
Capretta
Champignon	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Chaumes	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Comte	Yes	Raw	Cow
CranberryWensleydale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Cremier deChaumes
Crottin			Goat
Delice deBourgogne		Pasteurized	Cow
Denhay FarmhouseCheddar		Pasteurized	Cow
Double GloucesterSomerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Emmenthaler	Yes	Raw	Cow
Explorateur		Pasteurized	Cow
Florette		Pasteurized	Goat
Fol Epi	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Fontina d’Aosta		Raw	Cow
Fourgerus		Pasteurized	Cow
Forme d’Ambert		Raw	Cow
Fresh Mozzarella curd		Pasteurized	Cow
Fromager d’Affinois		Pasteurized	Cow
Gaperon Garmy		Pasteurized	Cow
Gorgonzola Dolce		Pasteurized	Cow
Gorgonzola Mountain Aged		Pasteurized	Cow
Grana Padano		Raw	Cow
Greens of Glastonbury	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Gruyere	Yes	Raw	Cow
Humboldt Fog	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
Iberico		Pasteurized	Cow, Sheep, Goat
Idiazabal		Raw	Sheep
Jarlsberg		Pasteurized	Cow
Kerrygold Blue		Pasteurized	Cow
Le Chatalain		Pasteurized	Cow
Livorot			Cow
Mahon		Raw	Cow (may have up to 5% sheep)
Manchego		Pasteurized	Sheep
Maytag Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Mimolette		Pasteurized	Cow
Morbier		Raw	Cow
Muenster Fleur de Sur
Ossau-Iraty		Pasteurized	Sheep
Parmigano-Reggiano		Raw	Cow
Parrano	No	Pasteurized	Cow
Pecorino Romano		Raw	Sheep
Pecorino Toscano		Pasteurized	Pecorino
Piave Vecchio		Raw	Cow
Pierre Robert		Pasteurized	Cow
Pont l’Eveque		Pasteurized	Cow
Provolone (Hanging)			Cow
P’tit Basque		Raw	Sheep
Quicke’s Bad Ass Goat Cheddar		Pasteurized	Goat, really nasty goat
Raclette	Yes	Raw	Cow
Red LeicesterSomerdale	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Rembrandt Aged Gouda	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Ricotta Salata		Raw	Sheep
Robiola Di Rocc		Pasteurized	Goat
Robiola 2 Milk		Pasteurized	Goat & Sheep
Robiola 3 Milk		Pasteurized	Goat, Sheep, Cow
Rogue Crater Lake	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Echo Mtn.	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Grape Leaf	Yes	Raw	Cow
Rogue Oregon Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Oregon Smoked Blue	Yes	Raw	Cow
Roquefort Societe		Raw	Sheep
Roth Kase Grand Cru Gruyere	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Roth Kase Grand Queso	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Roth Kase Petit Swiss	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Rozaire Brie de Nangis	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Agur		Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Albray	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Saint Andre	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Soignon Chevrion Buche	Yes	Pasteurized	Goat
St. Marcellin
St. Maure		Raw	Goat
Stilton Blue	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Taleggio		Pasteurized	Cow
Tomme de Savoie	Yes	Pasteurized	Cow
Valdeon		Pasteurized	Goat & Sheep
Valencay		Raw	Goat
W.V. Brindisi	Yes	Raw	Jersey Cow
W.V. Perrydale	Yes	Raw	Jersey Cow
Winey Goat		Pasteurized	Goat

 

This list is comprised primarily of the cheeses The Lady sells in her kiosk and while not yet complete (it will be updated as more information is found), it’s a start to help all those cheeselovers who are vegetarians and/or raw foodies…

Cahill’s Original Irish Porter Cheese

Cahill's Original Irish Porter Cheese

Vegetarian – Suitable Cheese

The Lady brought home a wedge of cheese that looked quite interesting. It was yellow like a cheddar with prominent brown mosaic veining throughout. The Lady told The Man that she was not a big fan of the cheese but had a sneaking suspicion that The Man and her favorite Feline Foodie (that would be me!!) would like the cheese. And, ta da, The Lady was right.

The Man and I conferred and decided to have it as a snack with 34° Degree Sesame Crispbread. The Man also enjoyed his with a glass of Guinness Stout. This particular cheese is made with a stout that the Cahill family brews on their farm where they also make this cheese.

Since the early 1980’s, Marion Cahill has developed her range of flavored cheddars.

This cheese itself is a full-flavored and tangy cheddar that is ever so slightly pungent with a firm texture. It’s a semi-hard cheese with a floral cheddery nose of fresh butter. The pate has a meaty texture with caramel and chocolatey, almost malty notes. It is made from pasteurized cow’s milk and is considered a “vegetarian” cheese since its curds and whey are separated with vegetable rennet.

This is the only cheese produced in the heart of County Limerick. The milk comes from the Friesian herd located on the 64-acre farm of Dave and Marion Cahill, just a mile outside the town. This and their other three cheeses are all farmstead cheeses as the cheese is made at the same facility where the milk is produced.

Marion, once a bank clerk, decided to go into cheese manufacturing in 1966 when she married Dave. Years later with the help of a small staff, she and Dave have become an established gourmet legend.

The cornerstone of their operation is that each cheese is individually made and blended using no artificial ingredients.

Cahill’s Original Irish Porter Cheese is sealed in a brown wax truckle.

This Feline Foodie gives Cahill’s Original Irish Porter Cheese 4 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got). (With apologies to The Lady who would have graded this cheese differently; but it’s my blog and I am the blog master…so there…)

Serving Suggestions:  This cheese breaks easily and could be melted or grated. This cheese is really good on a ploughman’s plate or served at lunch with beer. It would be good paired with ripe pear or cooked apple. This cheese is perfect as an hors D’Oeuvre when sliced and served with a tossed salad. It is equally as good when served as a centre piece on an after dinner cheese board.

Wine Pairings: Peirano Estate – The Other Red

Beer Pairings: Sammy Smiths – Taddy Porter, Butte Creek Porter, Guinness Stout (ask The Man)

Source: Cows’ Milk

Miscellaneous Information: Vegetarian Cheese

You can learn about Cahill’s other farmstead cheeses by clicking here.

Kerrygold Family of Cheeses – Red Leicester – Part Six

Before this feline foodie begins his review, I want to share with you a few “issues” I have with The Lady today.

She informed me last night that I am not going with her to Wisconsin. Maybe I am naïve but I just assumed (you know what humankind says about “assuming”…appears it really is true) I would be going along to keep my readers and fans up-to-date each evening when The Lady returns from the Wisconsin King of cheese mines…but no… The Man wants to know what exactly what my beef is, after all he’s not going either. Do I really need to explain to him the difference here???

I asked The Lady and The Man for a new laptop and they agreed to buy one today. Why exactly did they think I want it? I have the run of both computers here at the manse. Naturally a laptop is needed for traveling and staying in touch…but I digress…please lodge your complaints here…tell The Lady to let her feline foodie go…

Kerrygold Red Leicester

I am so down with Kerrygold Red Leicester; this is one tasty cheese.

Why it is called “Red” is one of the great mysteries in the world of cheese. The color, which is not red either, comes from a vegetable annatto added to make its presentation brighter and richer. Not that it needs it…this cheese stands alone… It is mellow with a firm body and flaky texture.

You can substitute this cheese for any recipe that calls for a rich cheddar. I suggest the next time you make your favorite mac ‘n cheese recipe, you add a little Red Leicester. You won’t be disappointed. It goes with most anything. I especially like it melted in the toaster oven on top of a nice rare slice of Nyctalus leisleri, which have their European stronghold in Ireland.

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

Serving suggestions: As mentioned above, Red Leicester goes with just about anything. As a table cheese, serve it with a medley of fruits such as apples, pears and plums. Melt it in a grilled cheese sandwich and substitute it for cheddar in any recipe you are using…you won’t be disappointed…

Wine Pairings: Doucette

Beer Pairings: Award-winning Mirror Pond Pale Ale from the Oregon Deschutes Brewery

Source: Cows’ Milk

I hope you enjoyed my reviews of the Kerrygold Family of Cheeses.

My next reviews will be of the Family of Istara Cheeses. I will begin with Ossau-Iraty, a favorite cheese of The Lady’s friend, John.

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

The Kerrygold Family of Cheeses – Part Four – Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle Cheese

It is said that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will be blessed with the “Gift of Gab”, also referred to as “eloquence” or skill at persuasion. Had The Lady used a little more “blarney” this past week, perhaps she would have sold a couple more $$ of cheese and been Number 1 in sales rather than coming in second by one lousy (The Lady used a much more colorful word when she saw the sales report) dollar. She has quite the competitive soul…

The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of the Blarney Castle located about eight kilometers from Cork, Ireland. There are at least six different legends of how the stone came to be in the Blarney Castle…probably all a result of someone kissing too many Guinness as opposed to kissing the stone.

However, it is the area around the Blarney Castle that gives us the verdant pastures where Irish Dairy cattle roam free and give Kerrygold the milk that makes yet another wonderful Irish cheese. Supposedly the Castle was built to protect these rolling hills and meandering streams of sparkling pure water…it may sound like blarney, but it’s true.

Kerrygold Blarney Castle cheese is mild and creamy, similar to young Gouda. It shares a smooth texture with Gouda as well and melts on the palate if you take your time enjoying its delicate flavor.

It is suitable for vegetarians as a natural vegetable rennet is used to start the cheese making process.

I give Blarney Castle 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got). It might have been 4 Paws were The Lady and I not so partial to Aged Gouda.

Serving Suggestions: You can do most anything with this cheese; it’s great on a sandwich – grilled or otherwise; as a table cheese it can stand up to the other cheeses vying for attention; put it in quiche; cube it in a salad. Because it is an excellent melting cheese you can shred it over a baked potato or a bowl of chili. The Lady likes it with grapes and pears and cashews.

Wine pairings: Sauvignon Blanc

Beer Pairing: Harp

Source: Pasteurized Cow’s Milk

Please note: The picture I used shows Blarney Castle as a wheel. Currently it is manufactured and sold as a loaf.

Up next: Kerrygold Ivernia

The Kerrygold Family of Cheeses – Part Three – Kerrygold Butters

Kerrygold Butters

Conor O’Donovan, who works for Kerrygold, came to The Lady’s kiosk recently to sample the Dubliner cheese and one of the Kerrygold Butters. He graciously gave The Lady a few coupons and she used one to buy Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter.

Now The Man will only use this butter on his Dave’s Killer Bread (the best bread in the entire humankind world) and other food that is enhanced by the addition of butter. Like The Man, I can’t think of a single food that cannot be “enhanced” by Kerrygold Butter. The Lady agrees; however, since she went on The Diet (she has now lost 67 pounds…13 more and she will have lost Lara Flynn Boyle…who really needs to eat a sandwich…with mayo…that is one skinny broad, in this feline’s humble opinion), she doesn’t eat butter.

And you know what that means…more for me and The Man…

Kerrygold Butter is not just any everyday butter…this is butter. Once again, terroir rears its lovely head and makes another divine manna from Ireland. This butter is creamier, brighter in colors…all that beta carotene…and spreads as smoothly as Hollywood gossip. You can do anything with it; spread on crusty baguettes; use it in sauces; bake with it…you’ll never have a flakier croissant than the one made using Kerrygold Butter…hey, just throw a little straight Kerrygold Butter in my chow dish and this feline foodie will have a licking good time…not to be confused with The Lady’s friend, Nate and his “lick and run theory”.

Kerrygold makes its butter salted or unsalted and one with Garlic and Herbs.

This feline foodie gives Kerrygold Butters 4 out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).

Serving suggestions: In addition to those listed above, melt a pat on your favorite steak; toss it with pasta; melt it on steamed veggies; schmear it on a bagel; use it to make garlic bread; spread it with Ficoco on raisin toast…the possibilities are endless.

Source: Cow’s milk from Dairy Cattle that graze freely (for Nate) on Irish grass.

Before I go…let me leave you with a parting thought…do you know why leprechauns wear green undies on St. Patrick’s Day? To protect their lucky charms, of course…

Up next: Kerrygold Blarney Castle.

The Kerrygold Family of Cheeses – Part Two – Aged Cheddar

Kerrygold Aged Cheddar

 

 

 

Before I review Kerrygold Aged Cheddar, I must lodge a quick complaint about the goin-ons around here at the manse today.

The Lady and The Man went to lunch; they go to a new restaurant every Tuesday and leave me alone “pulling on me plum” (I know what you’re thinking and you would be wrong… it’s Irish slang for “laying around doing nothing”… just trying to keep with the theme of the review…).

Anyway I was aroused from my early afternoon nap; the one that follows my late morning nap, to the sound of the garage door going up. I raised myself, stretched and prepared to rub on The Lady until she fed me my afternoon snack…but no…the door burst open and in came all the “wee folk” aka The Lady’s “posse”. Ten kids screaming and shouting, all under the age of twelve, all invading my house to weave with The Lady…well, except Viktor, he’s five and he comes for “the snacks”…most likely snacks are at the top of the list of the other nine but they are too polite…if you want to check out the posse, you can by visiting The Lady’s photo albums at picasa.

In my continuing review of the sublime Kerrygold Cheeses, today I wish to give you my thoughts about the Kerrygold Aged Cheddar. On their website, Kerrygold states that the recipe for this divine cheese is 1300 years old. It was created by Monks way back even before there was a back in the day.

Have you ever thought about all the wonderful cheeses, wines and liqueurs that were created by Monks? Have you ever wondered why that is? Well, here’s a news flash…when you give up sex; there’s nothing left but eating and drinking. Monks have lots of time to “contemplate” the best things in life: cheese and wine. Now you know that there actually is an upside to celibacy…who knew??? Well, the Monks for sure…

You may have noticed that I tend to go for the more mature cheddars and this one certainly fits that bill. This cheese is aged for one year and tested as the months tick off – some wheels don’t make the grade and get tossed aside. Kerrygold also offers a “reserve” version that gets an extra year of aging before being wrapped and labeled in gold. Now that’s the one you want to eat with a slice of apple or melted on apple pie. It’s so sharp, it curls your paws. Or as The Lady’s poker-playing buddy, Gavin likes to say, “It’s so good, it’ll take the back of your head off.”

It’s a full-bodied cheese with a wonderful, satisfying after taste. You’ll love this cheese.

 

And to add a bit of levity to the review, it also comes in a “reduced fat” version…come on, why eat cheese if not for the fat??? I’m just saying…

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

Serving Suggestions: Try this cheddar in your next Mac and cheese creation; it’ll knock your socks off; grilled cheese to die for and always wonderful on a 34 Degree Natural Crispbread Cracker.

Wine Pairings: You need a wine that will stand up to this cheddar. A California Cab; Merlot or a Sangiovese.

Beer Pairing: Nothing wussy…

Source: Pasteurized Cow’s Milk

Up next: Kerrygold Pure Butters

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