Béal Organic Cheese is made by Kate Carmody at Béal Lodge Dairy Farm, a small family-run dairy farm of
Holstein cows on 56 acres located by the mouth of the
River Shannon
The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland.
The Shan ...
in
Listowel
Listowel ( ; , IPA: ˆlʲɪsË ËˆtÌªË uÉ™hÉ™lʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...
,
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae ChiarraÃ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
in
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 ...
. It is a
cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. Cheddar originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset.
Ched ...
and claims to be the first Irish produced using organic farming and methods. Béal Organic Cheese is handmade from
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.
History
Kate Carmody began making cheese in 1987, after her mother presented her with a gift consisting of a cheese press and a book on making cheese. In 1997, she began the process of converting to organic production. She achieved full organic status in 2000, becoming the first organically produced Irish Cheddar cheese.
In 2010, Carmody appeared on Dragons' Den in Ireland
where she secured an investment of €50,000.
Products
There are three products in the Béal Organic Cheese range, although the availability of the cheese is subject to seasonal availability:
* Béal Mild Organic Irish Cheddar is made from pasteurised milk and vegetarian rennet.
* Béal Handmade Mature Organic Cheddar is made from pasteurised milk and vegetarian rennet.
* Béal Raw Milk Mature Organic Cheddar is made from raw unpasteurised milk and vegetarian rennet, and takes up to nine months to fully mature.
Awards
*2009: Silver, World Cheese Awards
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beal Organic Cheese
Dairy products companies of Ireland
Cheesemakers
Cow's-milk cheeses