Dunlop cheese
Encyclopedia
Dunlop is a mild cheese
or 'sweet-milk cheese' from Dunlop
in East Ayrshire
, Scotland
. It resembles a soft Cheddar cheese
in texture. It fell out of popularity some time after the end of the Second World War
, however it has now appreciated for its value in various recipes and for eating on its own or with a dram of whisky
.
In the early 18th century Barbara Gilmour
successfully manufactured a type of cheese 'til 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. Even William Cobbett
himself pronounced it 'equal in quality to any cheese from Cheshire
, Gloucestershire
, or Wiltshire
.'
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 nation-wide 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. 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, and 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
which heaves it a little on the top. One drawback for Dunlop cheese is that its nearest direct competitor, New Cheddar cheese, being dry and hard, retains its weight while kept in stock, and is also in the condition at an earlier date to be exhibited in cuts.
Salt from the saltpans
at Saltcoats
was often used in the manufacture of Dunlop cheese and it contained magnesia
and Epsom Salts (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 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. 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.
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
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'.
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
or 'sweet-milk cheese' from Dunlop
Dunlop, East Ayrshire
Dunlop is a village and parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It lies on the A735, north-east of Stewarton, seven miles from Kilmarnock. The road runs on to Lugton and the B706 enters the village from Beith.-The village:...
in East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It resembles a soft Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
in texture. It fell out of popularity some time after the end of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, however it has now appreciated for its value in various recipes and for eating on its own or with a dram of whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
.
Background
Barbara Gilmour
Barbara Gilmour was a significant figure in 17th century Ayrshire having introduced a method of cheese making which became common throughout Ayrshire and beyond, providing employment and extra income for farmers and others...
successfully manufactured a type of cheese 'til 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. Even William Cobbett
William Cobbett
William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters" relentlessly...
himself pronounced it 'equal in quality to any cheese from Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, or Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.'
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 nation-wide 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. 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.
Fermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
which heaves it a little on the top. One drawback for Dunlop cheese is that its nearest direct competitor, New Cheddar cheese, being dry and hard, retains its weight while kept in stock, and is also in the condition at an earlier date to be exhibited in cuts.
Salt from the saltpans
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...
at Saltcoats
Saltcoats
- References :*McSherry, R. & M. . Old Saltcoats, Stenlake Publishing, Ochiltree. ISBN 1-872074-57-X.*Stansfield, G. . Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways, Stenlake Publishing, Catrine. ISBN 1-84033-077-5.-External links:***...
was often used in the manufacture of Dunlop cheese and it contained magnesia
Magnesium oxide
Magnesium oxide , or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium . It has an empirical formula of and consists of a lattice of Mg2+ ions and O2– ions held together by ionic bonds...
and Epsom Salts (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 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. 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
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
, Islay
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
and elsewhere.
The Dunlop Cheese factory was sited near Dunlop railway station
Dunlop railway station
Dunlop railway station serves the village of Dunlop in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Glasgow South Western Line.- History :...
in what is now a housing estate, the memory of Dunlop cheese production being kept alive by the name 'Creamery Row'.
See also
- Dalgarven MillDalgarven MillDalgarven Mill is near Kilwinning, in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland and it is home to the Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume. The watermill has been completely restored over a number of years and is run by the independent Dalgarven Mill Trust.The village of Dalgarven was...
- The Ayrshire Museum of Country Life & Costume. - Corsehill - A history of the area.
- List of British cheeses
- LugtonLugtonLugton 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 in North Ayrshire. Uplawmoor is the first settlement on this 'Lochlibo Road' to the north and Burnhouse is to the south...
External links
- An excellent Dunlop historical site
- A retail outlet & the history of the cheese.
- A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland
- A source of Dunlop Cheese.
- A page on Dunlop Cheese.
- Details of cheese making and a photograph of a stone cheese press at 'The Hill' farm in Dunlop.
- The Scottish Film Archive.