In Ireland, we are lucky. We have an abundance of water and we have an abundance of fresh green grass and that makes for contented livestock. The quality of pasture in the South-Eastern region combined with good animal husbandry makes for high quality milk and we aim to translate our rich milk into high quality cheeses on the farm.
Elizabeth began by selling her cheeses locally at The Carlow Farmer’s market and has built up a loyal following over a few short years. An identical path for Vincenzo. Direct interaction between farmer and consumer is something they truly believe in and is central to their business ethic.
Elizabeth’s cheeses are made with both pasteurised and raw milk. Her popular Edam style, washed curd cheese is made with pasteurised cow’s milk and has a regular following. Her sheep’s cheese is made with raw milk and has won best-in-category in the British Cheese Awards (Gold 2014, & Bronze 2013) and her new Goat’s cheese (Tomme style) made with raw milk. Sheep milk yoghurt and pasteurized goat milk are also available.
We believe a Farmer’s cheese is something special; a true expression of regional flavour; something unique to its origins. Carlow Farmhouse Cheese is a micro enterprise run by Elizabeth Bradley on her farm in Ballybrommel in Fenagh - a rural part of County Carlow, near the foothills of Mount Leinster in the South East of Ireland.
Elizabeth has been farming for most of her life and hand-making her cheeses since 2005. She studied cheese-making both in Ireland and in Haute Savoie in France.
There is new (French) research being published, which gives scientific credence to the concept of 'terroir' - taste being local - and in danger of being lost, with increasingly standardized food production.
Despite variability in the amount and balance of individual microbes over time, the microbial ecosystem of each farm's raw milk is distinctive. Farming and milking practices have a significant impact on how these microbial communities are formed.