ISLAND CHEESE COMPANY

Cheese-making and Cheese Shop
Home Farm
KA27 8DD
Contact: Ian McChlery
Tel: 01770 302 788

Behind a viewing window at one end of this busy cheese shop, the cheesemaker, Iain McChlery, is tipping ten gallons of cows milk into a stainless steel vat to make a batch of Bellecreme. When it has reached blood temperature, he mixes in a 'blue' bacteria made from penicillium white cammemiberti which will help to create some of its unique flavour. Rennet goes in next to make the milk set, into a soft jelly-like curd, before it's cut to let the whey run out.

It's just the beginning of the fascinating cheese-making process which you can watch throughout the day. The results are to be found at the excellent cheese counter in the shop. Today Bellecreme, tomorrow a creamy Crofter's Crowdie with its toasted oatmeal coating or perhaps a batch of little round soft-cheese Goat Fell Crottins.

This type of artisan cheesemaking on Arran has a long history going back to pre-World War II days of self-sufficiency, when every farm made cheese from it's own milk. In the twelve years since Ian McChlery came to the old creamery at Brodick he has reestablished this tradition. This year he has begun to pass on his cheesemaking skills to a new cheesemaker, Susan Currie, who milks her own animals at the Bellevue farm where a new farmhouse creamery has just been opened.

See our section on Bellevue Creamery

Product Range: Own production of Bellecreme, several soft cheeses including plain crowdie, crowdie with garlic, fromage frais, crème fraiche, sour cream and goats milk Goat Fell crotins. Also a range of flavoured cheddar's plus an extensive range of British cheeses including many high quality farmhouse cheeses made from unpasteurised milk.

Distribution: Retail. Mail Order.

On Arran: Widely available

Delivery area: Local and Scotland

Shop open all year - viewing area of cheese making in production