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I'll admit that when I was a child, the thought of eating blue cheese made me squeamish. Everything from its blue and green color to its stinky aroma repelled me. Overall, I think I was most disgusted by its mold. It was not until I moved to France and lived with a French family that I fell head over heels for this delectable category of cheeses.Yes. It's true that blue cheeses contain different strains of molds (usually Penicillium roqueforti), but this should hardly be off-putting when you consider the fact that all cheeses are made up of bacteria. I guarantee that you'll forget about the molds, the smell, and the bacteria after you try an assortment of blue cheeses. In fact, you'll start to love all those traits that turned you off from them in the first place.
I love the diversity of blue cheeses. While some are earthy, firm, and mildly spicy, others are creamy, sweet, and salty. I find it hard to understand when someone states that they do not like any blue cheeses. There are so many various styles of blue that I find it inconceivable that someone would not find at least one pleasing. Four of my absolute favorites can be found after the jump.
- Roquefort Vieux Berger: Out of all the Roqueforts that are imported into the U.S., this one is produced on the smallest scale. This sheep's milk blue cheese is by far the best. Its texture is like fudge and its molds taste like salted caramel. It's aged in the famous natural Roquefort caves in the Aveyron (southwestern France).
- Bleu des Basques: This is another sheep's milk blue cheese from France. Its aroma is more subdued than that of the Roquefort mentioned above. It has a smooth clean finish that makes it appealing to people who are tasting blue cheese for the first time. Its soft delicate consistency is absolutely heavenly!
- Stilton Colston Bassett: England is famous for its Stilton, a cow's milk blue cheese. Colston Bassett is one of the smallest Stilton producers in England. Stilton's earthiness and crumbly texture make it delicious in salads. This Stilton in particular has so much complexity that I think it would be best to eat on its own, perhaps, with some port.
- Cabrales: Firmer and spicier than the three cheeses mentioned above, this Spanish blue cheese is made with cow's milk with the addition of sheep's milk and goat's milk depending on availability.
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6-17-2008 @5:15PM Alex Falk said... Bleu by itself=Heaven
Bleu and Port= Heaven.
Bleu and potatoes=Heaven.
Bleu and burgers=orgasmic bliss.
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6-17-2008 @5:19PM Numb said... Again - sign me up for anything but Stilton. I've even tried to *force* myself into liking Stilton, but I still can't stand the foul stuff. Unrelated - I haven't tried the second cheese you listed yet, but it sounds fantastic.
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6-17-2008 @5:57PM ShadowGod said... Mmmmmm I always put blue cheese on my burgers, soooo good.
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6-17-2008 @6:17PM ChillyWilly said... Roquefort is my absolute favorite. Love, love, love this cheese. Since the 70's where it was one of the salad dressing choices at Bob's Big Boy, I've been hooked on roquefort.
At almost $30/lb. at my local deli, it's pricey, but it's always a nice treat, spread on some crackers or crumbled up in a chef salad.
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6-17-2008 @7:01PM Leslie said... Blue cheese is great. My 9y.o. loves it with apples or especially pears. I don't really get what's not to like about it...surprising we still have to act like it's a taste to acquire. I like a Spanish one at whole foods (forgot the name)that is very salty.
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6-17-2008 @9:25PM Luis Antono said... I remember having some cabrales once, it cleared my sinuses =) damn! it was good!!! good on it´s own though none of the wines we had could match up to it... and the again I also recall the first time I tried that magical port and stilton pairing quite simply the best pairing I´ve ever tasted I honestly can´t remember what style port it was so I haven´t been able to recreate that same magnificent feeling of the strong-salty cheese being washed down by the sweet complex wine.
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and.. some spam
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6-17-2008 @9:40PM Amber said... I'll just come out and say it- I hate blue cheese. I've tried it paired with several different things, and I still hate it. I don't think I'm ever going to change my mind either.
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6-17-2008 @11:27PM nancycakes said... Um, lately I have been devouring blue cheese. I have been spreading it on homemade crackers, as well as adding crumbles to servings of watermelon.
Honestly, I wonder if I am treating some kind of infection with the natural antibiotics. Seriously.
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6-18-2008 @7:02AM Gobo said... I adore blue cheese, and have since I was a kid. It's fantastic stuff, even the stinky Stilton. And now the BF puts the stuff on everything -- pizza, fries, burgers, what have you -- I'm fine with it :)
(ps: it's "head over heels".)
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6-18-2008 @9:53AM Astin said... It's not the mold, colour, or smell that puts me off... it's the taste. I have yet to find a bleu I come even CLOSE to enjoying. In fact, if a single piece gets into some other food, the flavour spreads throughout, making it incredibly unpalatable to me.
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6-18-2008 @11:59AM RJ said... The WORST is when you think you have ranch dressing and instead it's Bleu Cheese, and you sink your teeth into a salad expecting one type of taste but you get the sour, mouldy tang of Bleu Cheese instead, it makes me want to hurl!
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6-18-2008 @2:24PM Monika said... I can't handle the taste either.. Although I'm hoping that's one of the foodie no-ways that I can change. But every time I have some, and I've come across many different varieties, I have to rush for something else to take the taste out of my mouth.
I wonder if it has to do with making sandwiches on bread I didn't realize was moldy one too many times, and becoming ridiculously sensitive to the taste.
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6-18-2008 @3:57PM Tug Spicer said... bleu cheese need no defense. it is simply incredible.
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6-18-2008 @5:15PM Shayna Glick said... I also hated bleu cheese when I was younger. It wasn't until I actually *tried* some that I started liking it. Now I love it.
To everyone who says they can't stand the taste, but keep on trying to.. I say that everyone has different tastes and you shouldn't have to defend that to anyone. I have always, and will always, hate mushrooms. I don't care that I lose foodie points. They're my taste buds, and I'll eat what I want.
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6-19-2008 @11:31AM phlipper said... For phobics, I recommend Roaring Forties bleu cheese. It's kind of sweet and fruity and, following an example I saw on Iron Chef America recently (Anne Burrell, perhaps?), it even tastes good in ice cream.
For real aficionados, though, there is nothing better than Papillon Roquefort. It's worth seeking out. Whole Foods some times has it, but good cheese shops will always have some.
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6-20-2008 @11:38AM Numb said... I disagree on Roaring Forties. It's a great cheese, but it's WAY too strong for blue cheese virgins. I'd recommend trying Great Hill Blue if you're not sold on blue cheese yet - it's a creamy, delicious cheese that's strong in cheese flavor but pretty mild as far as the blue cheese flavor goes. It's a great starting point for newbie blues.
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6-20-2008 @11:58AM Numb said... I disagree on Roaring Forties. It's a great cheese, but it's WAY too strong for blue cheese virgins. I'd recommend trying Great Hill Blue if you're not sold on blue cheese yet - it's a creamy, delicious cheese that's strong in cheese flavor but pretty mild as far as the blue cheese flavor goes. It's a great starting point for newbie blues.
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