Name of Group of Producers: Dairygold Cooperative (Mogeely, County Cork)
Inspection Body: Department of Agricolture and Food Agricolture House (Kildare Street - Dublin2)
Date of Submission: 06.07.98
Date of Publication: 11.11.98
Date of Registration: 05.10.99
Cow's
milk cheese made in Dairygold Mogeely. The milk used comes only from
pasture-fed animals in a defined area of 3 000 approximately in South-East
Cork, Ireland.
Geographical
area: An area of 3 000 km2 in south east Cork, Ireland, within which the
barony of Imokilly, after which the cheese is named, is situated.
The
Irish province of Munster has a long tradition of cheese-making. The
baronies of Imokilly, Fermoy and Muskerry have been recognised as uniquely
suitable for dairying back to medieval times. Before the formation of
Imokilly Cooperative in 1930, the region was famous for its farmhouse
butter and for the manufacture of farmhouse cheeses. References to a
cheese-making tradition in the area can be traced back to the oldest
Gaelic sources. In the memory of local people, some of whom started their
working lives in domestic service in houses of the local landed gentry,
cheese was being made domestically in the area until after the Second
World War. A curd cheese is remembered as having been made commercially in
the hydro-spa in Blarney for patients coming for treatment to that area.
Following
the amalgamation of the two farmer cooperatives Imokilly and Mitchelstown
in 1973, the art and skill of experienced, older cheese makers was made
available to a younger generation of craftsmen who started the new plant
in Mogeely. Together, they designed a recipe for a multi-functional cheese.
The recipe developed was a synthesis of traditional cheese making skills,
technical know-how and the artisan tradition of cheese and butter-making
in the area. To cite a specific instance, the rennet used for Imokilly
Regato is based on some of the traditional coagulating materials for
pre-medieval Irish cheeses described in research published in 1948.
In
1986, a further merger with a farmer-owned cooperatives brought together
Mitchelstown, Imokilly and Ballyclough in a new grouping known as
Dairygold Cooperative, which is still fully farmer owned. While this
application is being made in the name of the legal entity, Dairygold
Cooperative, Dairygold Mogeely continues to have an independent existence
within the Dairygold group as a collector and processor of milk from the
south east Cork region.
The
townland of Mogeely, where the manufacturing creamery is located, lies
within the barony of Imokilly. The barony name derives from the ancient
Gaelic name of the region, Ui MacCaille.
The
cheese is manufactured between March and October from milk produced only
by pasture-fed cows. Because of the long grazing period in the catchment
area, the milk contains high levels of betacarotene, the precurser of
vitamin A, which imparts a special colour to it. This grazing profile also
affects the fat content of the milk. It contains a higher percentage of
low melting fatty acids which impact on the flavour.
Milk
is standardised to ensure consistency in cheese flavour and texture. It is
cooled to 32-34 °C. A specially identified strain of culture,
supplemented by other selected strains, is used as the core bacteria in
the cheese starter. Following ripening, an individualised rennet, blended
daily on the premises, is added. Regato curd is cut very finely to take
heat very quickly and aid the growth of beneficial bacteria. The starter
culture, the rennet and the curd handling develop the flavour, body and
texture of this specific cheese.
The
cheese curds are shaped in moulds. The pressed cheese is salted twice, the
second salting being by hand. The cheese is typically held in controlled
conditions for 9-12 months for maturation.
Apart
from the method of production which is peculiar to Imokilly Regato, the
distinctive colour (in the straw-yellow to golden-cream range) of the
cheese is directly linked to the qualities of the local milk supply. The
cheese is manufactured only from milk produced by cows grazing on pasture
in the period March to October. The influence of the Gulf Stream on the
climate of south-east Cork is such that cows in the catchment area spend
an exceptionally large amount of their lactation period on grass. Because
of the particularly long grazing season in this area, the milk has a
distinctive colour and natural flora which is reflected in the taste and
colour of Imokilly Regato. The unique taste, aroma and texture of Imokilly
Regato result as a consequence of the combination of this milk supply and
the production process incorporating cheese-making skills traditional to
the region.
