There are countless ways to enjoy this inherently unique cheese.
Blue cheese is not exclusively blue. Look closely at the veining throughout a blue cheese and you’ll see shades of blue, green, and gray in a beautiful web. All cheese is the controlled spoilage of milk. With blue cheese, this fact becomes visually clear.
Blue cheeses encompass a wide array of styles. You can find mellow triple cremes with just a hint of peppery blue, or super piquant, salty blues that will make you pucker. They might be creamy or crumbly; spreadable or meltable. Blues are made with goat, sheep, and cow milk all over the world, crafted with different recipes, and aged for different lengths of time.
Most blues are crafted in much the same way — by the addition of blue mold powder to milk during the cheesemaking process. That mold is usually Penicillium roqueforti, although it might also be Penicillium glaucum, which has a milder, sweeter effect on the cheese. Just like white bloomy rinds flourish on Brie in contact with oxygen, these blue molds need air to grow.
Most blues are pierced — or veined — with tools that look like long skewers. This allows oxygen to reach the interior of the cheese wheels as they age, developing their characteristic veining. Less often, blue cheeses are made with ambient mold, meaning the wheels mature in caves where spores in the air colonize the cheese.
There are myriad factors that determine the flavor and texture of a blue cheese. How much moisture remains in each wheel and when the rind is pierced are two major aspects in determining a cheese’s character.
CENTURIES OF BLUE
Blue cheese began, according to legend, in the seventh century outside the village of Roquefort in France. A shepherd neglected his lunch of bread and cheese in a cliffside cave. When he returned a few months later, the cheese had been taken over with Penicillium roqueforti, a mold that was growing in the cave. It looked wild, yet it tasted delicious.
Blue cheese’s burst of salinity and richness makes it a welcome addition to salads, grilled steaks, burgers and sauces.
There is indeed some history to support the myth. There is evidence that cheese has been made in the Roquefort area since before Roman times, and the first written records of Roquefort cheese appear in 1070. Since then, iconic European blues were created and earned their place in culinary history: Gorgonzola in Italy, Stilton in the United Kingdom, Roquefort in France, and Valdeón in Spain. Now American cheesemakers are crafting a worthy, delicious lineup of their own.
Marguerite Merritt, cheese emissary and brand manager at Rogue Creamery, in Central Point, OR, says that terroir, that ineffable blend of soil, topography, and climate, impacts blue cheese deeply. “Our cheesemaking and aging rooms have been in production for over 70 years,” Merritt explains. “Over this time, naturally occurring yeasts, blue molds, and other microbes have evolved to create an entirely unique environment that cannot be replicated.”
CULINARY GOLD
There are countless ways to enjoy blue cheeses. Blue cheese’s burst of salinity and richness makes it a welcome addition to salads, grilled steaks, burgers and sauces.
Add some buttermilk, fresh ground pepper, and garlic powder and you have yourself a salad dressing or burst that adds flavor to anything from crudité to chicken wings. “I enjoy topping a pizza and creating a creamy sauce for pasta or adding blue to a polenta and stewed beef dish,” says Sofia Krans of BelGioioso Cheese, Green Bay, WI.
• • •
Blue Cheeses to Fall For
ROQUEFORT
For centuries, the cheese has been made from Lacaune sheep’s milk in the small, southern French village, where its name and production methods have been protected since 1411. A favorite of kings and popes, the creamy cheese is balanced with a peppery zing and an earthy complexity. The wheels mature in naturally formed caves in the cliffs overhanging the village of Roquefort. Serve with a Côtes du Rhône and juicy, ripe pears.
GORGONZOLA
Another ancient blue, Gorgonzola has been made in the town of Gorgonzola, near Milan, since 879 A.D. Today, Gorgonzola is mainly produced in the northern Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, with local cow’s milk. The cheese comes in different varieties, including Gorgonzola Dolce, which is soft and lusciously creamy, with a distinct sweetness, and Gorgonzola Piccante, which is firmer, crumblier, and as the name suggests, not shy at all. Try it added to gnocchi, or served alongside polenta, or served with a drizzle of honey and glass of bold Barolo.
BELGIOIOSO BLUE CHEESES
In 1979, Errico Auricchio moved his family from Italy to Wisconsin with the goal of crafting the best Italian cheeses in the U.S. Four generations later, BelGioioso’s goal remains unchanged. “My grandfather, Nonno Nino, used to bring Gorgonzola Dolce in his suitcase over the holidays when he visited from Italy. We loved the cheese so much, and didn’t want to wait a whole year, that my father chose to start making small batches in Wisconsin,” says Sofia Krans, of BelGioioso Cheese, Green Bay, WI.
“We are very proud of the artisan attention we have given to our entire line of blue cheeses,” says Krans. “Our master cheesemaker, Jeff Allen, has embraced crafting BelGioioso blue varieties. Many people are often intimidated by blues and, from past experience, feel they will be too strong and overpowering in flavor. All of our blues and purposely crafted to give you a well-balanced flavor and a clean aftertaste.”
BelGioioso has a whole portfolio of blues, from a creamy, mild earthy CreamyGorg (they refer to this as their gateway Gorg, a wonderful introduction into the world of blue cheeses). Then they have Belgioioso Blue, which is aged 60 days and Crumbly Gorgonzolas that are both aged 90 days for deeper flavor and aroma. And finally, the uniqueness of the cow and sheep’s milk Gorgonzola, with a creamy, tangy body. “A twist on blue with baa and moo,” says Krans.
ROGUE CREAMERY’S ROGUE RIVER BLUE
All of Rogue’s milk comes from Southern Oregon, within 30 miles of their cheesemaking factory. “We use only certified organic, non-homogenized, and non-standardized cow’s milk from a herd composed of mostly Holstein and Brown Swiss cows,” explains Marguerite Merritt, cheese emissary and brand manager at Rogue Creamery. “Our cows graze for the majority of the year on native grasses, and the flavors of our terroir make our milk distinctive.”
Fall brings the start of production season for Rogue River Blue. The cooler, wetter climate makes the pastures lusher and the cow’s milk richer. A complex cheese, its paste is fudgy and rich. Try Rogue River Blue with crushed toasted hazelnuts and a drizzle of honey.
CARPENEDO’S BLU 61
This creamy Italian blue cheese is ripened for 60 days before being infused with local Raboso Passito wine and cranberries, which impart a boozy depth and tart, fruity notes. It’s the brainchild of Alessandro Carpenedo, who created Blu 61 in honor of his father Antonio and his mother Giuseppina’s love — they were married in 1961.
STILTON AND Stichelton
Producers in the English counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire use local cow’s milk and follow traditional recipes that have been around for generations to make the iconic Stilton. The buttery, dense cheese has a mineral aroma from the blue-green veining, and is a brilliant choice to end a dinner party with shards of dark chocolate and pours of port all around.
If you’re a Stilton fan — and you should be — Stichelton will bring you absolute joy. For centuries, Stilton was made with raw milk. Then in the 20th century, regulations were put in place that stipulated Stilton must be made with pasteurized milk. But since 2006, working in collaboration with Neal’s Yard Dairy, Joe Schneider has been making traditional British blue cheese with raw milk on his own farm, from his grass-fed cow herd. He couldn’t call it Stilton, so Stichelton was born.
It’s a small production version made with raw milk on his Welbeck Estate, in Nottinghamshire, the birthplace of Stilton. The creamy, fudgy blue has notes of caramel and a bright piquancy that’s welcome after a rich dinner. It’s decadent, brawny and brilliant.
JASPER HILL BAYLEY HAZEN BLUE
This fudgy, luscious blue is a modern classic. Jasper Hill makes cheese with the intention of building environmental and economic resilience in their community. Bayley Hazen gets its name from Bayley Hazen Military Road, a supply route commissioned by George Washington during the Revolutionary War, located in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
Bayley Hazen Blue has a peppery tang and a salty finish, with a bit of peanut buttery sweetness. It’s as welcome on a cheese board as it is crumbled in a salad or baked into a quiche. It needs something bold for pairing, like an oatmeal stout or a juicy Zinfandel.
VALDEÓN
If you’re up for a strong blue with a bit of funk, reach for Valdeón. Crafted in the Castile-León region of Spain, Valdeón is made from a mix of cow’s milk and goat’s milk. The proportion of the two types of milk varies during the season, based on what is available. The result is a tangy, peppery blue with a great balance of spice and salt, with a bit of nuttiness. Try with slices of chorizo and a strong Belgian ale, or a juicy Tempranillo.
