#34 - Kallarney Blue by The Cheese Barn at Matatoki

Back in March my mother went on a trip to the Coromandel peninsula, and on the way she stopped off at The Cheese Barn at Matatoki.  One benefit of being involved in the cheese industry is that every time anyone in our families stops at a cheese shop they inevitably purchase something to bring back for us to try out!

So mum had purchased a wedge of Kallarney Blue for us.  This cheese was made from organic cow's milk, and using vegetarian rennet.  The fat content was stated as 29.5%, which I calculate to give a cheese of around 50% FDM (for those Europeans used to such terminology).

The wedge of cheese was wrapped in cling film and it had obviously been wrapped up for a while as the surfaces did not look very fresh, and were a little dry and oxidised.  This is not something to worry too much about, as simply scraping down the surfaces with the face of a knife will tidy it up well.

The cheese paste was firm, slightly dry, almost like a soft, slightly crumbly cheddar. It had nice blue marbling throughout.  The flavour was quite savoury - almost meaty - and there was good balance between this savouriness, the blue veins and the salt.

Overall a nice cheese.  Given that our sample didn't appear so fresh, we would recommend looking for a piece that had been more recently cut from the truckle.  Kallarney Blue would go well in a cheeseboard selection with some nice chutney or a savoury crab-apple jelly.    

Kallarney Blue from The Cheese Barn at Matatoki.