Cashel Blue (Fethard, Co. Tipperary)

Husband and wife team, Louis and Jane Grubb, have perfected their distinctive full-fat blue cheese by first heating the rich milk, provided by their pedigree Friesian cows, in a hundred-year-old copper vat. Once the milk is pasteurized then cooled, a starter with Pencillium roqueforti is added before heating again. Rennet (traditional or vegetarian) is then included and it is left to set for one hour. The curd is cut, left for another hour before being removed fr om the vat in linen cloths and left to drain. The curds are then dropped straight into the moulds and for the next two days left to drain further with occasional turnings. As soon as the cheese is dry enough, salting and piercing takes place.