Cheese Guide
We are always here to assist & make your experience better.
There are so many different types of cheese. If you break them down into different categories it will give you a better understanding of cheese and how it’s made. Here at The Little Cheese Shop, we have cheese made from cow, sheep, goat and sometimes buffalo milk. We will always help you find the cheese that suits your tastes and needs.
Fresh cheese
These are soft and will have plenty of moisture in them. These usually have a very short shelf life. They usually are creamy and have a lovely acidic or tangy finish.
Examples
- Dingle Goats Cheese
- Toon’s Bridge Mozzarella
- Galway Goat (Rolla Dubh, Cnoc Dubh)
- St Tola Goat
Bloomy Rinds
Think of cheeses like Bries and Camemberts. They are soft and have a beautiful rind. Bacteria is added during the cheese-making process to help develop a beautiful white or beige rind on the cheese. Each cheesemaker may work differently with these bacteria and that is what makes every bloomy rind cheese so unique. Most of these cheeses will start their life being very acidic but this mellows as the cheese matures.
Depending on the cheese they will be matured from 2 weeks to 12 weeks.
Such cheeses will not have a long shelf life, we will always help you select the correct amount for your needs.
Examples
Cavanbert
Cooleeney
Tipperary Brie
Balylisk
Gort na Mona
Washed Rind cheese
Each of these cheeses are hand-washed regularly by the cheesemaker while they mature. This encourages bacteria to form, giving each washed rind cheese its own unique flavour and texture. The flavour of washed rind cheese will start off mild and will develop flavours while it matures.
Examples
- Gubbeen
- Milleens
- Durrus
- Taleggio
Hard Cheese
As the name suggests, hard cheeses are firm and dense. Hard cheeses are pressed when made, reducing the moisture and allowing them to be aged.
Hard cheeses usually have their own savoury flavours. This will be more powerful the longer the cheese has matured.
Hard cheeses have a longer shelf life and are more stable than other cheeses.
Examples
Wilma’s Gouda
Kylemore
Coolattin Cheddar
Derg Cheddar
Coolea
Cais Na Tire
Blue Cheese
You will either love blue cheese or hate it.
Blue cheese has so many different characteristics and depending on the style it can be creamy, mild, strong, crumbly, salty or sometimes a combination of these.
During the cheese-making process, blue moulds are added. It is only later during the process when each cheese is pierced by the cheesemaker allowing these blue moulds to spread, giving a vein-like appearance.
We always carry a selection of blues, ranging from creamy or crumbly to mild or strong.
Examples
Kerry Blue
Cashel Blue
Crozier Blue
Young Buck
Boyne Valley Blue
Smoked cheese
A smoked cheese can help to add variety to your cheese board and can be used in so many recipes.
In a time before refrigeration, it was common to smoke cheeses to help preserve them. Today cheese is smoked to add an extra flavour. We always carry a range of naturally smoked cheeses.
Examples
Smoked Gubbeen
Smoked Milleens
Smoked Durrus
Smoked Drumlin
