If happy cows come from California, the bovines that hail from Ireland must be
ecstatic. After all, those vast patches of emerald that are so enticing in
photographs are also attractive to cows. And not just to look at.
Grass-fed cows produce most of the milk that ends up in Irish cheeses sold in
the United States. Some of the cheeses are familiar and can be found locally,
such as Kerrygold’s Dubliner and Blarney Castle, and Cashel blue. Others such
as County Cork’s gouda-like Coolea can only be purchased online or at the
nation’s retail shrines to cheese such as Murray’s Cheese Shop in New York and
Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, Mass.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day and it’s a good bet you’re wearing a bit of green
even if you don’t have a drop of Irish blood in your veins. You may be having
corned beef and cabbage for dinner; perhaps you’ve made soda bread. Cheese isn’t
something you’re likely to think about for the gathering of the clan, but
cookbook author Margaret Johnson The Irish Pub Cookbook, The New Irish Table and
others on Irish cuisine) thinks you should. She also is a wee bit irritated that
Irish dishes aren’t thought about in the United States much past March 17.
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