Kerrygold’s Ivernia Cheese

With a few days off from work and not much to do, I recently headed to Whole Foods hoping to discover some great cheese in the remnant basket. Unfortunately, I had no luck. There were a few small pieces of a truffle cheese but I couldn’t justify the $5 price tag for such a small piece of cheese. I felt that same way with a cheese that was on sale for $30/lb (originally $35/lb). The Whole Foods description was not very convincing nor was the lack of intriguing smell. I passed. Instead I decided on a cheese that I had never seen before (Iverrnia) from a company that I love (Kerrygold). I made the right decision.

I have tried Kerrygold’s Dubliner cheese, among others and fallen in love with them. Therefore, I was excited to try a Kerrygold cheese that I didn’t even knew existed: Kerrygold’s Ivernia Cheese.

Talk about a family tree. The Iverni were an ancient people of Ireland, settling on the island around 500 BC. The name is thought to have derived from Erin, the ancient Greek mythological name for Ireland, which is itself derived from the word Éire, the name for Ireland in our indigenous Celtic language.

That’s good party trivia when you’re huddled around the cheese platter addicted to this elegant, complex piquant-style cheese. It’s hard enough to grate over a bed of baby greens or a piping hot soup and delicious enough to slice and eat on its own. (Kerrygold)

With a kickass history regarding its name, how could Kerrygold’s Ivernia cheese be bad? I mean, seriously?

The cheese is aged three years and has a rich, complex and buttery flavor. Ivernia seems to modeled after Parmigiano-Reggiano and indeed the aromas of the two cheeses are quite similar. (Corks and Curds)

Well, the Ivernia cheese was pretty darn delicious. As I have done recently when focusing on just the cheese, I sampled it plain and then made a grilled cheese, using fresh rye bread. (It would seem that rye bread is my favorite type of bread, huh?) In both instances, the cheese was amazing. Ivernia cheese is smooth and creamy but also has some bite to it. Complex, as has been used twice above to describe the cheese and that is a perfect adjective. You think it will be a mild cheese but in actuality, it is not. Mmm.

If you have yet to try any of Kerrygold’s cheeses, I would highly recommend them all, but especially the Ivernia (and the Dubliner). I plan on trying more Kerrygold cheeses in the very near future.

P.S. Any suggestions on what you would pair Ivernia with on a gourmet grilled cheese?