Cashel Blue

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When Louis & Jane Grubb set out to make Cashel Blue in the early 1980’s, their ambition was to create a farmhouse cheese that “truly represents the outstanding quality of Tipperary grass-fed milk.”

Today, more than 30 years later and in the hands of the second generation, Cashel Blue is still made by hand on the same 200 acre farm; Beechmount, in Co. Tipperary, Ireland.

Cashel Blue is Ireland’s original, farmhouse blue cheese, as until it’s development there was no blue cheese made on Irish farms.  Nearly 50% of the pasteurized milk used in the cheese comes from Grubb’s selected Holstein-Friesians cows while the remaining comes from local herds. The rennet used in making in this cheese makes it suitable for vegetarians.

Depending on the age, Cashel Blue texture varies from chalky to soft yellow paste and a characteristic bluish green mold. Young cheeses taste and smell chalky, lactic and mildly blue while the older ones are rich and buttery with a well-formed blue color.

Over 18 weeks of maturing, the cheese takes on a robust flavor and is granular in texture. It is one of the finest blue cheeses that relies on it’s balance in taste, texture and aroma. Young Cashel Blue pairs well with Gewurztraminer.

Cashel Blue is named after the historic “Rock of Cashel,” a medieval castle that was once the seat of the Kings of Munster, and where lore has it St Patrick commenced the conversion of the pagan Irish to Christianity by using a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, giving birth to one of Ireland’s national symbols.

Cashel Blue is a semi-soft, creamy Irish farmhouse cheese, distinguished by its round, full flavor and signature tang. Its buttery color is punctuated by characteristic blue veining.

Lovingly crafted by the Grubb Family, Cashel Blue Cheese is made on the family farm with milk from grass-fed dairy cows that graze on some of Ireland’s most lush and nutrient rich pastures. Little surprise then, that Cashel Blue has garnered considerable international acclaim, which includes taking home gold every year since 2009 at the International Cheese Awards held annually in Natwich, U.K. Cashel Blue’s robust flavor profile makes it a worthy companion to grilled steak, ripe pears or figs and a perfect pairing with leafy green salads. All-natural Cashel Blue Cheese is a true masterpiece of Irish dairy.

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