Dunlop Cheese
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Dunlop is a mild
cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
or 'sweet-milk cheese' from
Dunlop, East Ayrshire Dunlop (; , or )
is a village and parish in East Ayr ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.MacIntosh, John (1894). ''Ayrshire Nights Entertainments: A Descriptive Guide to the History, Traditions, Antiquities, etc. of the County of Ayr''. Pub. Kilmarnock. P. 265. It resembles a soft
Cheddar cheese Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. It originates from the English village of Cheddar, Somerset, Cheddar in ...
in
texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Image texture, the spatial arrangement of color or intensities in an image * Surface texture, the smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface c ...
. Though it fell out of popularity some time after the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, it is now appreciated for its value in various recipes and for eating on its own or with a dram of
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
. A strong link exists with Robert Burns as related by his family's friend
Jessie Lewars Jessie Lewars, also known as Mrs. James Thomson,Westwood, Page 1 was the youngest daughter of John Lewars, a supervisor of excise. Following the death of her 69-year-old father in 1789, Jessie was only 11 years old, when she and her brother John ...
who related that "''When he chanced to come home and find no dinner ready, he was never in the least irritated, but would address himself with the greatest cheerfulness to any makeshift set before him. They generally had abundance of good Dunlop cheese, sent them by their Ayrshire friends. The poet would sit down to bread and cheese, with his book by his side and seem to the casual visitor as happy as a courtier at the feast of Kings.''" A traditional creation method has been registered as a
Protected Geographical Indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and Traditional food, traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote ...
since 2015 in the EU and (after Brexit) in the UK under the name Traditional Ayrshire Dunlop.


Background

In the early 18th century Barbara Gilmour successfully manufactured a type of cheese till then unknown in Scotland, being made from unskimmed milk from Ayrshire cows. Her process was copied by her neighbours and 'Dunlop cheese' came into such demand, that whether made by Barbara, her neighbours, or by the housewives of adjoining parishes, it found a ready market. It is suggested that the spread of the cheese to other districts was largely through farmers who had settled there from Dunlop parish.Smith, John. ''Cheesemaking in Scotland – A History''. Scottish Dairy Association. . P. 31. Even
William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an Agrarianism, agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restr ...
himself pronounced it 'equal in quality to any cheese from
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, or
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
. Gilmour was something of an evangelist in the matter of making sweet milk (unskimmed milk) cheese, and being a forthright and energetic character she traveled widely to teach the making of her Dunlop cheese, and so stimulated a nationwide demand. This demand stimulated merchants to visit Cunninghame, buy Dunlop cheese and sell it throughout the central lowlands of Scotland. Local cheese merchants from Kirktoun also bought up the cheese and took them to Glasgow for sale in the markets. The new system for making cheese was widely copied and extended rapidly to many parts of Scotland by the end of the 18th century, even where traditionally sheep's milk cheese had been made.Smith, John. ''Cheesemaking in Scotland – A History''. Scottish Dairy Association. . Nothing but skimmed milk having been used in the process of cheese making in this district, previously, all the cheese similarly made in the western counties received the appellation of "Dunlop" and in 1837 the ''Ayrshire Statistical Account'' records that 25,000 stones imperial were made in this parish annually. The characteristics of Dunlop cheese are that it is a mild, sweet, buttery-tasting cheese with a semi-soft texture when young but maturing to a fudgey or hard texture after a few months. Dunlop cheese is soft and tasteless when turned out of the chesset or mould. It requires from six to twelve months to mature, and to acquire the light, elegant, charming flavour and fragrance peculiar to the Dunlop, it must be kept in a thoroughly dry place and be frequently turned upside-down, as it undergoes a slight
fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...
which heaves it a little on the top. One drawback of Dunlop cheese is that its nearest direct competitor, New Cheddar cheese, being dry and hard, retains its weight while kept in stock, and it is also in the condition at an earlier date to be exhibited in cuts.Dunlop Parish. Notes on the way through Ayrshire – 100 years ago.
/ref>McMichael, George (c. 1881 – 1890). ''Notes on the Way Through Ayrshire and the Land of Burn, Wallace, Henry the Minstrel, and Covenant Martyrs.'' Hugh Henry : Ayr. p. 158 Salt from the saltpans at
Saltcoats Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...
was often used in the manufacture of Dunlop cheese. The salt contained magnesia and
Epsom Salts Epsomite, Epsom salt, or magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, is a hydrous magnesium sulfate mineral with formula . Physical properties Epsomite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. The normal form is as massive encrustations, while acicula ...
(magnesium sulphate) which gave the cheese a pleasant and distinctive taste; indeed it was debated whether cheese made using cheaper imported mined salt could be called 'Dunlop' cheese. Historically, poor transport had encouraged the making of butter and cheese from fresh milk due to its highly perishable nature; when the railways came in the 19th century, however, farmers were able to transport and sell their milk further afield, and much less was available for making cheese. Paterson Paterson, James (1866). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. V.3. Cuninghame, Part E. Pub. Edinburgh. P.215. records in 1866 that Dunlop cheese has to some extent been superseded by the Cheddar system of cheese-making. The high value which was set on the Barbara Gilmour cheese for the purpose of roasting was very much confined to Ayrshire, where a farl of oat cake or supple scone spread with roasted cheese, and a bowl of milk, or whey, or tea, or cold water, made a highly relished and substantial meal, precluding in many families the use of bacon for breakfast.McMichael, George (c. 1881 – 1890). ''Notes on the Way Through Ayrshire and the Land of Burn, Wallace, Henry the Minstrel, and Covenant Martyrs.'' Hugh Henry : Ayr. p. 159 With the vast population of England cheese was only eaten 'raw' with loaf bread, usually spread with mustard, and accompanied with the inevitable pot of beer. For this purpose the dry Cheddar and dry and salt American cheese were the favourites. The very dryness and saltness heighten thirst, and therefore the relish of the beer.


Current production

The local production of Dunlop cheese ceased in around 1940, and has only been sporadic since the Second World War, however Dunlop and other cheeses are as of 2007 made at West Clerkland Farm just outside Stewarton on the Dunlop Road, and are also produced on Arran,
Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...
and elsewhere. The Dunlop Cheese factory was sited near Dunlop railway station in what is now a housing estate, the memory of Dunlop cheese production being kept alive by the name 'Creamery Row'.


See also

* Dalgarven Mill – The Ayrshire Museum of Country Life & Costume * Corsehill – A history of the area *
List of British cheeses This is a list of cheeses from the United Kingdom. The British Cheese Board (now part of Dairy UK) states that "there are over 700 named British cheeses produced in the UK." British cheese has become an important export. Blue cheeses Blue che ...
*
Lugton Lugton is a small village or hamlet in East Ayrshire, Scotland with a population of 80 people. The A736 road runs through on its way from Glasgow, to the north, to Irvine, North Ayrshire, Irvine in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settleme ...
*
Scottish cuisine Scottish cuisine (; ) encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Scotland. It has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own, but also shares much with other British and wider European cuisine as a result of l ...


References


Bibliography

*Boyle, Andrew (1990), Dunlop Cheese and Ayrshire Bacon. ''Ayrshire Heritage.'' Pub. Alloway Pub. Co., .


External links


An excellent Dunlop historical site
* ttp://gourmetbritain.com/encyclo_entry.php?item=1692 A page on Dunlop Cheese
The Scottish Film Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop cheese Scottish cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Sheep's-milk cheeses History of Scottish cuisine