Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese
Experimenting in her kitchen in 2004, home chef Helen Finnegan made the very first batch of what was to become Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese using just a few simple household utensils and a small amount of goat’s milk. Deciding to invest in her passion for good food, Helen began making cheese full time and the first Knockdrinna cheese – a Goats Cheese Camembert, Knockdrinna Snow – was born.
At Knockdrinna, cheese is made from the best quality milk and their cheeses change depending on the milk available to them and the season. They make Lavistown, a traditional Caerphilly cheese made with milk from my neighbouring farmer's cow’s milk. They also make cheeses from Sheep’s and Goat’s milk, hard and semi-hard and feta style cheeses from a range of recipes. They make bespoke cheese for special customers, and sometimes they have some of this to sell.
Milk type: Cow
Flavour: Creamy buttermilk flavour when the cheese is young, becoming harder and drier in texture with age. Paste becomes more crumbly as the cheese ages and takes on a tang
Paste: Semi-hard texture
Rind: Natural rind, light beige grey colour
Age: 2 - 8 months
Format: 3.5kg
Rennet: Vegetarian
Pairings: Cider
Season available: Available all year
Made with raw milk: No
Milk type: Goat
Style: Semi-soft bloomy rind
Flavour: Mild, creamy and slightly citrus early on, developing camembert spectrum of flavours at full maturity
Paste: Brilliant white paste, with a soft texture
Rind: Snowy white, mould rind
Age: 2 - 8 weeks
Format: 180g
Rennet: Vegetarian
Pairings: Côtes du Rhône
Season available: Available all year
Made with raw milk: No
Milk type: Goat
Style: Fresh cheese and soft cheese
Flavour: Crumbly with real depth of flavour and relatively subtle salting
Paste: White and crumbly
Age: From 1 week onwards
Format: 1kg
Rennet: Vegetarian
Pairings: Tomatoes, cucumbers & olives
Season available: Available all year
Made with raw milk: No
Milk type: Sheep
Style: Hard cheese
Flavour: Mild, sweet and creamy taking on more pronounced fudge and nutty notes as the cheese ages, roasted lamb flavour, earthiness
Paste: Semi firm, white in colour, slightly open textured paste
Rind: Natural rind, light beige with pinkish hue
Age: 3 - 8 months
Format: 3.5kg
Rennet: Vegetarian
Season available: Available all year
Made with raw milk: No
Milk type: Goat
Style: Fresh cheese and soft cheese
Flavour: Lemony / Citrus flavour with chalkiness
Paste: White, loose textured
Rind: Thin mould rind
Age: From 1 week
Format: 150g
Rennet: Vegetarian
Pairings: Sauvignon Blanc
Season available: Available all year
Made with raw milk: No
Milk type: Goat
Style: Hard cheese
Flavour: Mild, and nutty with a pleasant “goatiness”, paste becomes more crumbly as the cheese ages and develops more bite
Paste: Semi firm, white in colour, paste is freckled with small air holes
Rind: Natural rind, light beige
Age: 3 - 8 months
Format: 3.5kg
Rennet: Vegetarian
Season available: Available all year
Made with raw milk: No
