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Blue Archives

December 31, 2006

58. Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue

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After a bite Fleming said, "Wow! This is now my favorite blue cheese!" I can't say Rogue Creamery's Smokey Blue cheese knocked off my title holder but it is a strong young contender. Last week I heard Steve Jenkins mention this cheese on the radio so I put it on my shopping list and sought it out.
The first bite for me was wonderful but ambivalent. "Is it smoked blue cheese or a blue smoked cheese?" Smoked cheeses are particular favorites of mine since the flavor is usually a single note--smoke. Smokey Blue is different. The blueness, the tang of piquant blue mold and the rich creamy cheese create a harmonic of powerful flavors. Smoked over burning hazelnut shells the cheese has a great balance between the forces of smoke and mold. This cheese has a kick but it is well-worth finding and tasting.

Name: Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue
Type of Milk: Cow, Pasteurized
Type: semi-soft blue
Produced in: United States of America, California
Date Purchased: 12/27/2006
Date Eaten: 12/31/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $19.99/lb.

Posted on December 31, 2006 11:25 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

January 17, 2007

75. Blacksticks Blue

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In the United States most people think of blue cheese as a white cheese spotted with veins of blue mold. Some of my favorites are the orange blue cheeses like Blacksticks Blue. Smooth and spreadable as opposed to the crumbly blues, Blacksticks goes well with warm baguette or melted into warm buttered pasta. The orange cheese is creamy and the blue mold is piquant but not overpowering. A real treat.

Name: Blacksticks Blue
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semi-soft, blue
Produced in: England, Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses
Date Purchased: 01/11/2007
Date Eaten: 01/13/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $13.99/lb.

Posted on January 17, 2007 11:04 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

February 9, 2007

98. Valdeón

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Supposedly Valdeón is often confused with its more famous relative Cabrales. Both are Spanish blues, aged in caves. Both cheeses were wrapped in the leaves of the Spanish Sycamore Maple, though Cabrales has now shed its leaf from more modren aluminum foil. Valdeón is more blue in color compared to the grey tones of Cabrales which are one of its distinguishing characteristics. I will speak more of Cabrales soon but now the spotlight is on Valdeón.

Valdeón comes from the northwestern mountain region of Spain outside of León. Though mainly produced from cow's milk alone, some producers will add goat's or sheep's milk to the mix. The blue cheese is salty and sharp and to my mind, wonderful. The texture is semi-soft but still firm, meaning it crumbles readily. Delicious with crusty bread or fine sherry.

Name: Valdeón or Valdeon or Picón de Valdeón
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semiosoft, blue
Produced in: Spain
Date Purchased: 2/13/2007
Date Eaten: 2/15/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $18.99/lb.

Posted on February 9, 2007 11:52 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

February 13, 2007

102. Saint Agur

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I don't know what Saint Agur is the patron saint of, but if it is soft creamy blue cheeses he was a good choice for the job. The eponymous cheese is a member of the gorgonzola family, a rich creamy French blue veined cheese that has become one of my favorite blues. I couldn't stop eating it. The buttery cheese is a perfect balance to the sharpness of the blue mold. I ate almost an entire baguette with this awesome cheese.

As a side note I believe the saint in question is the prophet Agur of the Old Testament who supposedly wrote the 30th chapter of Proverbs which has a lot to say about eating and sin.

Verse 8: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.

Verse 20: Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
Verse 33: Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

Name: Saint Agur or Saint-Agur or St. Agur
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: semi-soft, blue
Produced in: France, Auvergne
Date Purchased: 2/13/2007
Date Eaten: 2/15/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $16.99/lb.

Posted on February 13, 2007 11:02 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 24, 2007

113. Cabrales

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One of the first things I ever heard about Cabrales was.... Well, let me bury the lead on this one and come back to that. Cabrales is one of the finest blue cheeses in the world. The flavor is literally exciting. The rich, cheese curd, the tangy blue molds, the little crystals of sharp flavor, the powerful kiss of age around the rind all excite the particles on the tongue. Cabrales (pronounced "ca-brall-es") comes to us from Spain where it is matured in the caves of the Asturias region. Though sometimes made from a mixture of cow, goat and sheep milk, my selection was the exclusive product of cows.
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The blue of Cabrales is not the semi-uniform veins of blue mold found in many others but a more mottled, natural dispertion of the Penicillium mold. Instead of injecting the cheese curd with mold, the seperated cheese curd of Cabrales is exposed to the natural molds of limestones caves and them mixed together to disperse the mold through the cheese. After another two to six months in the caves the blue permeates the cheese. It is then wrapped in foil (not leaves like Valdeón and sent to market. A wonderful cheese.

Oh yes. The first thing I ever heard about Cabrales, while working in the cheese shop of a gourmet market, was that a really good Cabrales was "con gusano" meaning "with worms" or containing maggots. Supposedly while in these caves Cabrales cheese can be visited by certain bugs that lay their eggs in the rich nutrients of the cheeese. Supposedly this is a delicacy. Supposedly. I really can find no more than urban or rural legend that this is true though it makes sense. My father when he was young worked for a major cheese company that started with KR and ended with AFT. His job was to cut out cheese mites that has infested the cheese. So if bugs can invade a semi-sterile cheese factory I do not see why they would not alos be living in wild caved. Whether the Spanish consider these fly larvae a delicacy as some say, I do not know, but will ask the next Spanaird I meet.

Name: Cabrales
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semi-soft, blue
Produced in: Spain
Date Purchased: 2/13/2007
Date Eaten: 2/15/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $24.99/lb.

Posted on February 24, 2007 11:23 PM | | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

June 19, 2007

129. Crater Lake Blue

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Crater Lake Blue is a bit like the baby bear of blue cheeses. Not too hard. Not too soft. Not too strong. Not too mild. To say it is just right makes it sound a tad mediocre when I mean it as a superlative. This award winning blue is much an unsmoked version of Rogue Creamery's Smokey Blue, a cow's milk blue not complicated by the smoking process but still an amazingly delicious blue. Great crumbled over a salad or warm pasta. Delicious with a sparkling or sweet dessert wine.

Name: Crater Lake Blue or Rogue Creamery's Crater Lake Blue
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: blue, semi-soft
Produced in: United States of America, Oregon, Rogue Creamery
Date Purchased: 6/14/2007
Date Eaten: 6/10/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, Whole Foods
Price: $15.99/lb.

Posted on June 19, 2007 9:39 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

June 20, 2007

130. Lively Run Cayuga Blue

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One of the best things about Cayuga Blue from the Lively Run Goat Dairy of upstate New York is that it is two cheeses in one. Yes, it's a blue with rich veins of punching power. But it is also enough room between the blue streams to allow one to appreciate the raw goat cheese on its own. A bit firm but not crumbly or hard the texture has a smooth finish while the flavor is rich but not overpowering like some others of the same breed. The name comes from Cayuga Lake, the longest of New York's finger lakes which one can imagine in the geography of this cheese's surface.

Name: Lively Run Cayuga Blue or Cayuga Blue
Type of Milk: goat's, unpasteurized
Type: semi-soft, blue
Produced in: United States of America, New York, Lively Run Goat Dairy
Date Purchased: 6/16/2007
Date Eaten: 6/14/2007
Purchased Where: United States, online, www.murrayscheese.com
Price: $26.99/lb.

Posted on June 20, 2007 9:40 PM | | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (10)

June 24, 2007

131. Gorgonzola Cremificato

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In the Gorgonzola flavor hierarchy Gorgonzola Cremificato stands in the middle. More flavorful than those cheeses labled Gorgonzola Dolce but less pungent than the more forceful Gorgonzola Piccante, cremificato is the creamiest and so far my favorite of the Italian blues. The softness of this cheese does not allow the blue veins to form throughout but instead produces rich puddles of ripe mold. It makes me think of a blue Taleggio if such a cheese existed. It spreads well and melts well making it great for cooking. I folded some into some warm pasta for a delicious afternoon lunch. A great blue cheese.

Name: Gorgonzola Cremificato
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: semi-soft, blue
Produced in: Italy
Date Purchased: 6/16/2007
Date Eaten: 6/20/2007
Purchased Where: United States, online, Artisinal Cheese
Price: $17.75/lb.

Posted on June 24, 2007 7:46 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

134. Carles Roquefort

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It came as either a gift or a mistake. I received a shipment of seven cheeses from an online order at ArtisanalCheese.com although I had only ordered six. The additional cheese was this wonderful French sheep's milk cheese, Carles Roquefort. No note to say they had thrown it in for free but if I remember right, I may have gotten an extra cheese on a previous order too. It was a little less than perfect in appearance. The thin edge of the wedge had been crushed a little, maybe even before shipping. Still it had its charms of appearance. I tasted this cheese, served it with green salad, spread it on warm bread, and enjoyed it immensely. Only when I started to write about it did I find out the retail price for this treasure, $43.00 a pound. Holy blue cows, Batman! That's Wagyu beef prices. When time came to review a Roquefort I may well have paid that amount and bought as small of a piece as would photograph well. It is the granddaddy of amazing blue cheeses. Is it worth $43.00 a pound? Maybe no, but it is worth $10.75 a quarter pound for a blue cheese experience to ground you in great blue cheeses.

Name: Carles Roquefort or Roquefort Carles
Type of Milk: sheep's, unpasteurized
Type: blue, semi-soft
Produced in: France
Date Purchased: 6/16/2007
Date Eaten: 6/20/2007
Purchased Where: United States, online, Artisanal Cheese
Price: $43.00/lb.

Posted on June 24, 2007 7:58 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

136. Blu del Moncenisio

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An Italian blue cheese that's not gorgonzola, Blue del Moncenisio is a cow's milk cheese from the northwestern most corner of the Piedmont. Slightly firm with rich pungent punch this is a very good cheese but overshadowed by its superiors. I liked it but the flavor was not memorable a few days after tasting it. Like most blue, pair it with a sweet dessert wine like a still or sparkling Moscatto or a stronger Nebbiola that withstand its force.

Name: Blu del Moncenisio
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: blue, semi-soft
Produced in: Italy
Date Purchased: 6/16/2007
Date Eaten: 6/20/2007
Purchased Where: United States, online, Artisanal Cheese
Price: $23.75/lb.

Posted on June 24, 2007 8:16 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

137. Strachitunt

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The name does not seem Italian. German maybe. Perhaps Romanian or Hungarian. It kind of makes me think of U Thant, former Secretary-General of the U.N. whom I know only from Trivial Pursuit and a reference in a Tom Hank's movie (That Thing You Do). Strachitunt, pronounced strak-ee-TOONT, is made from raw cow's milk in the Val Talaggio region of Lombardy, home of a great Italian cheese, Taleggio. The deep veins seem to reflect the needles of injected mold used to seed the milky cheese with culture but again make me think of the vampire's kiss and a Romanian origin. Unusual, rich, and complex are the first words that came to mind while sampling. Worth checking out.

Name: Strachitunt
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: blue, semi-soft
Produced in: Italy
Date Purchased: 6/16/2007
Date Eaten: 6/20/2007
Purchased Where: United States, online, Artisanal Cheese
Price: $18.50/lb.

Posted on June 24, 2007 8:19 AM | | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

September 22, 2007

149. Cambozola

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Cambozola and I have had a strange past. Something about the pre-printed Bavarian-blue cheese label seemed too processed, a little too contrived to me. The name had a fake, manufactured quality to it. I thought of it as a stuck up girl in the cafeteria who had no real grounds for her airs. With that prejudice I avoided even approaching her to find out if my assumptions were correct. Finally, having taken out all the other local girls and needing a date for Sunday night I decided to give Cambozola a try. We hit it off swimmingly.
Labeled as a triple cream, this cheese bears more of the qualities of enriched camembert-like cheeses than of its blue relatives. It is mild for a blue and may be a good starting point for anyone who thinks they do not like blue cheeses. Germany is not famous for its cheeses, sitting at the foot of the great Swiss cheeses to the south. Many might find Cambozola too processed but I really enjoyed every bite.
According to the manufacturer's web site the name is a tribute to a 4th century Bavarian settlement called Cambodunum. The name of the producer Käserei Champignon, "Champignon Cheesemakers" or "Button Mushroom Cheesemakers", confused me for some time. I was unclear if "champignon" was a reference to the blue fungus seeded into the soft cheese. Instead the name came about from the mushroomy smell that many of the bloomy white rind cheeses have and that being the main style of cheese the Käserei produced, they took the French word for mushroom as their brand.

Name: Cambozola
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: soft, blue, bloomy rind
Produced in: Germany, Bavaria, Lauben, Käserei Champignon
Date Purchased: 9/23/07
Date Eaten: 9/23/07
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raliegh, Whole Foods
Price: $14.99/lb.

Posted on September 22, 2007 4:47 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

October 23, 2007

157. Bartlett Blue

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If I had paid for it I would like it just as much. Bartlett Blue came as a free extra in my last order from Artisanal Cheese and I cannot thank them enough. It is one of the best blue cheeses I've had this year. The texture is semi-soft, slightly crumbly but not brittle. The cheese is modeled after Wensleydale and captures the charm of that cheese at its finest. The producers of Bartlett Blue are Jasper Hill Farms of Vermont and they know how to craft complex and delicious cheese.

Name: Bartlett Blue
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semi-soft, blue
Produced in: United States of America, Vermont, Greensboro, Jasper Hill Farms
Date Purchased: 10/09/2007
Date Eaten: 10/11/2007
Purchased Where: online, www.artisanalcheese.com
Price: $22.00/lb.

Posted on October 23, 2007 9:15 AM | | Comments (20) | TrackBacks (13)

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