We like to keep things simple.
We use thermized milk in our cheeses and our added flavours are achieved using natural ingredients such as nettle, cumin, tomato & basil, and chilli. We use natural starters and animal rennet; in fact you won’t find any synthetic ingredients in our products at all. Thermization is a process between raw milk and pasteurization, we apply a temperature of 60 degrees for 1 minute (as opposed to 63 for half an hour in pasteurization).
As with any hand-made cheese, natural variances will occur and these can be down to variances in pasture, rainfall, lactation stage, and general climate conditions. All this makes each cheese regionally distinct – one of the beauties of Farmer’s cheese. Check out our ‘How cheese is made’ page for more on the cheese-making process.
There are three key cheeses under the Carlow Farmhouse Cheese brand name.
Gouda style cheese
- made with raw cow’s milk
Our Gouda cheese is a mellow cheese and light yellow in appearance. It is suitable for eating any time; at lunch, as a food ingredient, or to complement your cheeseboard. It is a semi-soft cheese. A young cheese at 6 weeks, it can be matured for up to a year and is usually 3-6 months old when sold. A Young Edam cheese tastes very soft, slightly sweet with a mellow flavour. As the cheese matures, its flavour strengthens.
Our Gouda flavour blends include Nettle; Chilli; Tomato & Basil; Cumin.
Sheep’s cheese
– made with pasteurised ewe’s milk
While Ewes milk production lasts for just 6 months of the year (April-Sept), our cheese is available all year round. Our dairy Lacaune ewes happily rear their lambs on the farm and stress-free ewes give us beautiful rich milk. This cheese is flavoursome; nutty and moreish without being strong; it’s not far removed from mild cheddar in flavour. It’s a firm cheese which can be matured for up to a year or more and is generally available for sale from about three months in age.
This cheese won Bronze (2013) and Gold (2014) in its category in the British Cheese Awards.
Goat’s cheese
– made with raw goats milk
Unlike sheep, our goats have a longer lactation period; similar to dairy cows. Our Goat’s cheese is a Tomme-type cheese made with termized goat’s milk. Tomme is a generic term given to a group of cheeses made in the French Alps, which takes its name from their place of origin, the most famous being Tomme de Savoie. Allow us to introduce our own variety! This cheese is a semi-hard cheese with earthy tones and the distinct flavour of Goats milk. It is versatile in numerous dishes and tastes delicious with fresh or dried fruit and a glass of good red wine.
Sheep’s milk yoghurt
Our Sheep’s milk yogurt is creamy with a wonderful consistency and is an easy substitute for natural yogurt made with cow’s milk.
Soft goat cheese
This is a soft acidic curd cheese, refreshing and creamy to the palate.
Our Farmers Market Cheese Selection
Our cheeses are available for sale alongside 20+ other classic cheeses - other Irish local Farmhouse Cheeses, and from France, Switzerland, UK, Italy, and Spain. They include Gruyere, Roquefort, Comte, Emmental, Manchego, Parmesan, Brie, Gorgonzola, and Lincolnshire Poacher to mention but a few. Please download our pdf product listing for the full selection. You’ll find us at Portlaoise and Carlow’s Farmer’s markets.
PDF download coming soon