Woolworths and Cashel Blue Cheese.

A round of Cashel Blue.

 There I was, wheeling my trolley around the aisles of Woolworths, minding my own business. 

When when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a gold foil wrapped cheese sitting behind the glass cabinet. 

I swung abruptly and skidded to a halt, and stared at the round of cheese, and yes, there it was, in all its glory, Cashel Blue Cheese from Ireland. 

Well blow me down, that’s a first for South Africa. 

This cheese is a total delight. I tracked down the manager and I found Richard, who was only too delighted to tell me that recently, the Woolworths group 

Taste bud heaven.

have changed their cheese supplier for specialty cheeses. 

He assured me that the Cashel Blue was only the start of it. Watch out Checkers. 

Well that put a skip in my step. 

So what’s so good about Cashel Blue cheese?  

Friesian Cattle.

Cashel Blue is semi soft blue cows milk cheese, made from un-homogenised milk from a herd of Friesian cattle in County Tipperary in Ireland. 

Jane and Louis Grubb are the husband and wife behind this cheese success story. 

It’s a farmhouse cheese which was able to crack the UK  market. 

The cheese is sold young when it’s firm and crumbly but it’s best eaten at three months of age when it  has a softer creamier taste and has a more mature flavour. 

This cheese is one of my gourmet delights. 

And how to eat it? 

Let me count the ways. 

Obviously on plain crackers or with fruit. Wait ’till you taste this in a celery soup, or on a salad with walnuts. Of course you can always melt some of it with a dollop of creme frache and 

The Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary.

you have a sauce which is pure heaven for your taste buds. 

Oh yes indeedy, I’m a happy woman this weekend. 

R279 per kilogramme, which equates to R35 for a piece about the size of a deck of cards.