Abbey Cheese Company facts for kids

Abbey Cheese was a company in Ireland that made different kinds of cheese. They used milk from both cows and goats. Their cheese factory was in a town called Portlaoise, in County Laois. The company, officially named Abo Cheese Company Limited, stopped making cheese in 2017.

A man named Pat Hyland, also known as "Paddy wack," owned and ran the company. He started it in 1991 from his dairy farm. He wanted to make more money from the extra milk his cows produced. The milk for his cow cheeses came from a local group of Friesian cows.

Pat Hyland's first cheese was a soft blue cheese. It was similar to a cheese called Cambozola. Later, he learned about the benefits of organic farming. This means farming without certain chemicals. He decided to switch to making organic cheese. This change was very successful. After that, Pat Hyland created even more types of cheese.

Types of Abbey Cheese

Abbey Cheese made several unique cheeses. Each one had its own special taste and style. Here are some of the cheeses they produced:

• Abbey Blue Brie - This was the first blue Brie-style cheese made in Ireland. Brie is a soft, creamy cheese.
• Abbey Smoked Brie - This cheese was also creamy Brie. It had a smoky flavor. The cheese was smoked over ash for five hours to get this taste.
• St Canice - This cheese was made from goat's milk. It was similar to Feta cheese, which is often salty and crumbly.
• Paddy Jack - This was a special Gouda-style cheese. Gouda is a firm, yellow cheese. The Paddy Jack cheese was covered in black ash, which made it look very distinctive.