Gubbeen | |
---|---|
Country of origin | Ireland |
Region | County Cork |
Town | Schull |
Source of milk | Cows |
Pasteurised | Yes |
Texture | Semi-soft |
Fat content | 48% |
Weight | 500–1,200 g (18–42 oz) |
Gubbeen Cheese is a surface ripened, semi-soft, cow's milk cheese with a pink and white rind. The flavours are creamy with mushroom and nutty aftertastes but vary depending on maturity of cheese. Gubbeen Farmhouse Products also produce a Smoked Gubbeen.
Gubbeen Cheese has been produced since 1979 by Tom and Giana Ferguson at the 100 hectares (250 acres) Gubbeen Farm in Schull, County Cork. The name "Gubbeen" is an anglicisation of the Irish word goibín which means a small beak or mouth [1] and is taken from the name of the townland the farm is in. [2] [3]
All milk used for the cheese comes from their own herd of dairy cows, which is a mixture of several breeds; British Friesian, Simmenthal, Jersey, and Kerry. [4] The milk is stored in vats to which starter culture and rennet are added, causing the milk to set. This is then cut and stirred until the curds develop. The cheese is developed in curing rooms where the rind is washed daily. This is an important part of the process as the washing gives rise to the distinctive surface bloom and develops the characteristic flavours. The cheese develops deeper flavours as it matures. [3]
In 2001, a new strain of lactic acid producing bacteria, Microbacterium gubbeenense, was named after a study into the smear-ripening of Gubbeen cheese. [5]
Each cheese is 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter, 5 cm (2.0 in) in height, weighs 1,200 g (42 oz) and has a fat content of 48%. The cheese is also available as a mini-truckle weighing 400 g.
Gubbeen cheese has been the recipient of numerous awards, both nationally and internationally. Here is a selection of some recent awards:
Port Salut is a semi-soft pasteurised cow's milk cheese from Pays de la Loire, France, with a distinctive orange rind and a mild flavour. The cheese is produced in wheels approximately 23 cm (9 inches) in diameter, weighing approximately 2 kg (4.4 lb).
Brie is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated. It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mould. The rind is typically eaten, with its flavor depending largely upon the ingredients used and its manufacturing environment. It is similar to Camembert, which is native to a different region of France. Brie typically contains between 60% and 75% butterfat, slightly higher than Camembert.
Oka is a semi-soft washed rind cheese that was originally manufactured by Trappist monks located in Oka, Quebec, Canada. The cheese is named after the town. It has a distinct flavour and aroma, and is still manufactured in Oka, although now by a commercial company. The recipe was sold in 1981 by Les Pères Trappistes to the Agropur cooperative.
Camembert is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look and taste to brie cheese, albeit with a slightly lower butterfat content than brie's typical 20% – 25% by weight.
Reblochon is a soft washed-rind and smear-ripened French cheese made in the Alpine region of Haute-Savoie from raw cow's milk. It has its own AOC designation.
Ardrahan Farmhouse Cheese creates two varieties of cheese. They originate from Ardrahan Farmhouse, Kanturk, County Cork in Ireland. 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. Both varieties are made entirely from the milk of the Burnses' cow herd, which is composed of Friesian cows.
Durrus is a washed rind cow's milk cheese from Ireland. It was developed by Jeffa Gill in 1979, and is made by traditional methods. Durrus is produced in the valley of Coomkeen, near the village of Durrus on the Sheep's Head Peninsula in County Cork Ireland, where local herds provide the raw milk needed to make it.
Saint-Nectaire is a French cheese made in the Auvergne region of central France.
Époisses, also known as Époisses de Bourgogne, is a legally demarcated cheese made in the village of Époisses and its environs, in the département of Côte-d'Or, about halfway between Dijon and Auxerre, in the former duchy of Burgundy, France, from agricultural processes and resources traditionally found in that region.
Corleggy Cheeses is an Irish cheese producer in County Cavan. It was started by Silke Cropp in 1985 using milk from her own goat herd. Today Corleggy make a variety of different cheese from goat's milk, sheep's milk and cow's milk sourced from local farmers.
Derby cheese is a mild, semi-firm British cow's milk cheese made in Derbyshire with a smooth, mellow texture and a buttery flavour. Like most of the traditional British hard cheeses it was produced exclusively on farms and was typically sold at a younger age than its more famous cousins Cheddar and Cheshire. It has a pale, golden orange interior with a natural or waxed rind and ripens at between one and six months. In many respects Derby is similar to Cheddar in taste and texture, but with a softer body and slightly higher moisture content. When young it is springy and mild but as it matures subtle sweet flavours develop and the texture becomes firmer.
There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most commonly and traditionally used is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods. The criteria may either be used singly or in combination, with no single method being universally used.
Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese is a maker of semi-soft cheese made from cow's milk in Carrigaline, County Cork in Ireland. The O'Farrell family have produced cheeses on their farm in County Cork since 1988 using milk from their Friesian cow herd. The O'Farrell family business has since grown into a producer of artisan cheeses which have won several accolades and international cheese awards.
Flor de Guía cheese is a Spanish cheese made on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It has Denomination of Origin protection. The cheese is classified as fatty or semi-fatty and made from the milk from Canarian sheep, with milk from Canarian cows and/or goats. The milk from the sheep must constitute at least 60% and cows’ milk content must never exceed 40%. Goat milk must never exceed 10% of the mixture. The cheese is presented in flat cylindrical cheeses which normally measure 4–8 cm high and 20–30 cm across and weighing between 2 and 5 kg. The cheese gets its name from an area in northern Gran Canaria called Santa María de Guía, where the cheese is made, and ‘flor’ from the fact that juice from the flowerheads of a species of cardoon and globe artichoke are used to curdle the milk.
Washed-rind or smear-ripened cheeses are cheeses which are periodically treated with brine or mold-bearing agents. This encourages the growth of certain bacteria on their surface which give them distinctive flavors. There are hard and soft washed-rind cheeses. The softer ones are sometimes distinguished as "smear-ripened". Conversely, the term "washed rind" is sometimes reserved only for the hard ones.
Suffolk Gold cheese is a semi-soft cheese prepared from the pasteurised cow's milk of Guernsey cattle. Suffolk Farmhouse Cheeses, a family-operated company located in Creeting St Mary, Suffolk, England, produces the cheese. The dairy was established in 2004.
Hegarty's Cheese is an Irish cheese manufacturer making three different cows milk cheese in Whitechurch, County Cork. Hegarty's cheese first started in 2001 by brothers Dan and John Hegarty on the family farm and were joined in 2016 by Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin, a cheesemaker from France.