Boyne Valley Blue 200g
About This Cheese
Robust and full flavour goat’s milk blue cheese with firm, chalky texture.
TypeBlue, Firm
Rennetvegetarian
RegionBoyne Valley, Co Meath
ProducerMichael and Jenny Finegan
Milkgoat
Rindnatural
€8.00
Story
Boyne Valley blue is one of the few blue goat’s milk cheese produced in Ireland. Indeed, Blue goat’s cheeses are truly a rarity on the worldwide market, as it is a difficult balance to strike to ensure that the delicate goats milk flavours are still apparent with the presence of the more assertive blue flavours. The mottled brown rind encloses a semi-hard opaque - white paste containing cavernous, mould-lined holes from which the cheese derives its strength. The paste of the cheese appears quite dry and crumbly, but there is a certain pleasing elasticity to the texture when tasting.
Producer
The Finegan family farm 280 acres of land in the Boyne Valley including cereals, cattle and goats. The farm has been in the Finegan family since the early 1930’s when it was bought by Michael’s grandfather. It is the core of what was then Mullagha House and Estate, which dates back to the 16th Century. Michael and Jenny Finegan run the goat enterprise at Mullagha farm together; they started in 2007 and have grown the herd of Saanen, Alpine, Toggenburg and Anglo Nubian to around 300 milkers. Michael and Jenny firmly believe that the lush grasses of the Boyne Valley truly influence the cheese and impart a unique flavour.
Goes Well With
You may also like…
-
Cashel Blue Mature
Cashel, Co Tipperary Price range: €5.80 through €48.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Mikes Fancy Cheese Young Buck 200g
Co. Down, Norther Ireland €9.00 Add to Bag
FAQs
Cheese should be unpacked and stored in a cool place, ideally around 5 degrees. Take out about an hour before serving, and allow to come to room temperature. Leaving cheese come up to room temperature (“to chambre”) allows it to develop a fuller, more aromatic flavour. Beware temperatures that are too warm (hot kitchen) and try and let the cheese come up to temperature in a relatively cool place like a cool pantry. Harder cheeses can need a little more time than softer ones.
Cheeses like cheddars that have more open texture pastes where the curd is not heavily compacted during the cheesemaking process can have occasional blue veining. Though this blueing is caused by unintentional rouge pencillium genus mould that has found its way into the cheese, it is often sought after for its contributing flavour.
Frequently, cheeses that start to grow mould while aging, in storage, or during transit can be salvaged and are safe to consume. In the case of blue/white mould that has begun to form, it can be scraped off with regular dinner knife or back of chef knife, and bloomy rind cheeses often begin to re-rind themselves on the cut surface which can just be cut off or eaten.
Spoiled cheese has some key indicators – if you get an ammonia/sour smell or taste then it goes in the bin.
Fresh, high moisture, young cheeses (think mozzarella/ricotta/mascarpone/cream cheese) that have mould growing should be discarded immediately.
Moulds that show up with black or reddish hue should be discarded.
Our primary aim is to provide delicious, quality, safe cheeses to our Sheridans customers however cheese is a living thing with an agenda of its own. If you believe your cheese (or other food item) has spoiled, please contact us immediate at online@sheridanscheesemongers.com for a replacement or refund.
Nutritional Information
Ingredients: Allergens in Bold: Goat Milk, Salt, Culture, Rennet, Calcium Chloride, mould
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER 100G:
Energy 1514kj/364kcal
Fat 27.7g
(of which saturates) 17.69g
Total carbohydrate 4.6g
(of which sugars) <0.2g
Protein 24.2g
Salt 1.28g
