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We are delighted that Dubliner Cheese has received such a prestigious award.  It really recognises our dedication to producing some of the best tasting cheese available and demonstrates once again that consumers can choose the best quality, best tasting products from Irish producers. Dubliner cheese continues to maintain the gold stamp of approval!

We get asked many questions with regards to how suitable our Dubliner Cheeses are for Vegetarians and Vegans… hopefully the extensive research kindly compiled by the Vegetarian Society of Ireland will help answer your questions below.

In short, Dubliner is one of the few Irish cheeses in Ireland to clearly display the important  ‘Suitable for Vegetarians’ Symbol on the back of all of our packs!

Vegetarian Advice from the Irish Society  

Survey of cheese manufacturers in Ireland – here in this article, we present a newly updated list of vegetarian cheeses available to the Irish consumer . During the earlier survey, producers were contacted directly and asked about their cheese making processes. The list below has been compiled using a combination of website access, direct contact with producers and some sleuth work - going into the supermarkets and health food shops with a good old note pad and pen!

Vegetarian Cheese?

The first question one might ask is; what makes a cheese suitable or unsuitable for vegetarians? Cheeses can be made with any type of milk, and in the case of vegan substitutes, soya or rice milk, for example. This in itself is absolutely acceptable - whether vegetarian or vegan, there is an option for everyone. Problems can arise, however, once the actual processing of the milk commences.

The Cheese Making Process

Depending on the type of cheese being made, the process varies. The following simplified description (for making cheddar cheese) goes some way towards explaining the procedure.

Raw milk is delivered to the dairy and pumped into giant aluminium vats, where it is heated to a temperature of around 30oC. Once heated, a acidic liquid is added to the milk called rennet. The rennet curdles the milk, separating the milk into solids (curds) and liquids (whey). The mix is heated more to encourage the further separating and setting of the solids (this is known as scalding). The two parts of the mixture must then be fully separated - only about 10% of the original quantity of milk remains as solids - the part that eventually ends up as cheese. Salt is added and mixed through to act as a stabiliser and preservative. The curds are then packed in cheesecloths and specific species of moulds are permitted to colonise the outside of the cloths around the blocks of cheese. After a maturation period, the large blocks are prepared for packaging and sale.

Rennet - what source?

The problem occurs once the rennet is added. Traditionally, rennet has been sourced from the stomach juices of animals - usually calves. More recently, a microbial alternative (suitable for vegetarians) has been more commonly used in cheese making, but this is by no means across the board.

Rennet acts in much the same way as other acidic liquids such as vinegar or lemon juice. In fact, a cheese called ‘paneer’, used extensively in mid-eastern cookery and reasonably easy to make at home, is prepared using only milk and lemon juice.

Some cheese types (such as cheddar or brie) can be found in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian forms. Other varieties are not so flexible - an example of a cheese type which is not suitable for vegetarian consumption is parmesan - our enquiries have yet to uncover a vegetarian alternative available for sale in Ireland (however, a non-dairy substitute exists: Florentino Parmazano found in Health Food Shops).

Labelling…

There is a distinct lack of vegetarian-related labelling on most foods, with products at the cheese counter being no exception. A good variety of cheeses on the market are indeed suitable for vegetarian consumption but there is often no way of knowing without going in search of answers - a slow business at the best of times.

The following table lists those products which are suitable for vegetarians. A small minority actually have vegetarian symbols on their packaging - either vegetarian society approved symbols or own brand symbols. The rest have been passed as vegetarian based on the information volunteered by the producers.

Supermarkets

Tesco stores have their own brand vegetarian symbols, which are clearly visible on those products which qualify for them. Superquinn have an excellent and informative website.

Finally, one must remember that lists such as these are almost always incomplete - there are always products and brand names which will escape. However, it is always helpful to have an incomplete list to use as a guide. If any readers come across unlisted products please let us know, and we will print updates in future editions of the newsletter and website updates.

Happy cheese hunting!

www.vegetarian.ie

ooozzzing in taste!

Ann kindly e-mailed us after spending some time having fun and tasting our Dubliner Toasties at our Taste of Dublin stand this year, here’s what she had to say:

“Met Kate at Dubliner Stand at the Taste of Dublin - which by the way was excellent and I told her about a recipe I use for my Dubliner cheese! She asked me to send it on - so here goes:

Steps as follows:
1/Melt block of cheese (slowly), add either half a cup of milk or beer!

2/add couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce - Lea and Perrins of course!

3/pinch of mustard powder (optional), little seasoning - salt and white pepper, 

4/quarter cup of flour, keep stirring, then half cup of bread crumbs and

5/finally add a whipped egg, when slightly cooled! roll out between waxed paper - not too thinly.

6/When ready to use cut to slightly smaller than actual size of slice of toast (do lightly toast 1st), you can be naughty and butter same!

7/ When ready use put Dubliner cheese mix on slice - put under grill - and see what happens - Welsh Rarebit eat your heart out!

Can be kept in fridge for a week or two - it it lasts that long…  Do serve with, grilled rasher, tomato and a spoon of Ballymaloe Bramley Apple sauce with mustard or one of their chutney’s - Enjoy!

Actually, I think I’ll head to the kitchen this minute and make it myself - have guest coming from USA and I know they will like it - or there will be hell to pay because I’ll just have to eat it all and believe you me I could in one sitting! Burpppp. Anniro.”

They are crystals: calcium crystals. They’ve got way more taste than Krystal Carrington (hands up who remembers her?) We add a bacterial culture to Dubliner Cheese during manufacture, and as well as contributing to the flavour it produces lactic acid. Ripening Dubliner Cheese to achieve that unique taste can take up to two years, and during that time the lactic acid combines with calcium and the result is those white calcium crystals.

They add a gritty texture and enhance the rounded flavour of Dubliner. If they precipitate to the edges of the cheese block the crystals can cause a whitening of the colour too. This can be seasonal, and often it doesn’t happen at all, but it’s a completely natural process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpodZMvdMoc 

Click to see our new Dubliner Light Recloseable Cheese TV advertisement & let us know what you think!

Watch out for Dubliner Original’s ’big break’  in the next  week during ad breaks for our favourite shows!  These include:   Eastenders, Coronation St, House, 24, Operation Transformation, News @ 2100 on RTE1, Big Big Movie on RTE 1 - and let us know what you think!

For those of you who can’t wait…have a look by clicking on the link below:

 http://www.youtube.com/user/DublinerCheese1#p/a/u/0/P6m5IM8GhjE

All the actors of our new TV campaign caught 'on set' in their exclusive fridge location a few weeks back!

Are you frequently annoyed by the corners of your cheese going hard? Dubliner Cheese now has a solution to cheese exposure with its new packaging. The double zip feature will be exclusive to Dubliner cheese to help maintain freshness after opening.

An Irish TV ad campaign will support the launch, using animation to build on the ‘character’ element of the brand and remind people of the full range. The range includes mild, original red, original, vintage and light versions.

Watch this space for our update on the TV ads air times from tomorrow.