Ardrahan Farmhouse Cheese creates two varieties of cheese. They originate from Ardrahan Farmhouse, Kanturk,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The two varieties are Ardrahan and Duhallow. Eugene and Mary Burns first made Ardrahan cheese on their farm in County Cork in 1983 using traditional techniques.Bord Bia Description
Both varieties are made entirely from the milk of the Burns' cow herd, which is composed of

Friesian cow Holstein Friesians (often shortened to Holsteins in North America, while the term Friesians is often used in the UK and Ireland) are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, and Schleswig-Ho ...

s. Ardrahan is a semi-soft vegetarian cheese made from pasteurised

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

's milk and

vegetarian rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a ...

. It has a 25% fat content. It is made into wheels of 400g and 1.5 kg with a ridged brine-washed rind encrusted with moulds. A smoked version is also available. Ardrahan cheese has an earthy, farmhouse taste and aroma, and also a zesty tang that enhances the rich buttery and meaty flavour. It has a smooth texture, a deep yellow interior and an edible, full-bodied rind. Ardrahan's interior is firm and slightly chalky. It matures in four to eight weeks. Since 2006, they have also produced Duhallow cheese, a medium hard cheese also made from pasteurised cow's milk using vegetarian rennet. Most is exported to the US.

Awards

In 1994, Ardrahan won the Irish Food Writers Guild annual Good Food award.Irish Food Writers Guild previous winners
Since then, Ardrahan has won many more awards, including multiple medals from the British Cheese Awards and the World Cheese Awards.

References

Dairy products companies of Ireland Cheesemakers Cow's-milk cheeses Washed-rind cheeses Smoked cheeses {{cheese-stub