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This cheese has 17thC roots. In 1690, a farmer’s daughter made it a mile from this very farm, with huge success. She taught the making of this ‘sweetmilk’ cheese that became known as Dunlop. Her whole milk recipe creates a superior cheese – previously only skimmed milk had been used, a by-product of butter making. Not only is Dunlop famous for its cheese but also the Ayrshire cow, first bred in the parish, formerly known as the Dunlop cow. Dunlop cheese is specific to this region, small scale, made with traditional breed of cow to that area. Local production had closed down completely by 1940 and Ann Dorward at Dunlop Dairy has single-handedly resurrected it.
Dunlop is a mild, sweet, buttery tasting cheese made from the pasteurised milk of cows from Ayrshire breed. Traditional Ayrshire Dunlop is hard-pressed not unlike cheddar but more moist. When young and mild it has a nutty flavour with a smooth, close texture. As it matures (clothbound) it develops a good strength with a slight sharpness and becomes a harder cheese.
- PASTEURISED MILK FROM OWN AYRSHIRE COWS
- VEGETARIAN RENNET
- PGI STATUS
Available from Dunlop Dairy & from discerning farm shops & delis.
photo: Wendy Barrie