A washed-rind raw cow’s-milk cheese from West Cork, semi-soft and pungent, with a pinkish-orange rind. Jeffa Gill has made it since 1979, and it is one of the cheeses the Irish farmhouse revival was built on.
It is a raw-milk washed-rind cheese needing hand-washing every few days in a cellar held at a controlled temperature and humidity, with a specific surface culture.
What goes into it
- raw milk from local herds
- rennet
- a starter culture
- brine, carrying Brevibacterium linens
- salt
How it is made
Raw milk is set with rennet in a copper vat, the curd cut and drained into moulds without pressing. Through ripening each round is washed with brine two or three times a week for several weeks, which encourages Brevibacterium linens to colonise the surface and produce the orange rind, the smell and the soft paste beneath it.
How long it takes: five weeks to three months
How it is eaten
At room temperature with soda bread, baked whole, or melted over potatoes.
History
Made in West Cork since 1979 by Jeffa Gill, part of Ireland’s farmhouse cheese revival.
Frequently asked questions
What is Durrus cheese?
Durrus cheese is a cheese & dairy from Ireland: washed-rind raw cow’s milk cheese, semi-soft and pungent. Made in West Cork since 1979 by Jeffa Gill, part of Ireland’s farmhouse cheese revival.
How is Durrus cheese made?
Raw milk is set with rennet in a copper vat, the curd cut and drained into moulds without pressing. Through ripening each round is washed with brine two or three times a week for several weeks, which encourages Brevibacterium linens to colonise the surface and produce the orange rind, the smell and the soft paste beneath it. It takes five weeks to three months.
Can I make Durrus cheese at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a raw-milk washed-rind cheese needing hand-washing every few days in a cellar held at a controlled temperature and humidity, with a specific surface culture.
What goes into Durrus cheese?
Raw milk from local herds, rennet, a starter culture, brine, carrying Brevibacterium linens, salt.
How is Durrus cheese eaten?
At room temperature with soda bread, baked whole, or melted over potatoes.
