Blue Cheese 101

Blue cheeses photo courtesy of David Phillips

As this is my first contribution to The Cheese Professor, an introduction is in order. I am a former community and business journalist, who for the past ten years or so has worked to promote and sell cheese and explore happy collisions of craft beer and artisan cheese. I love tasting all kinds of cheeses, love learning and reading about cheese, and have a particular interest in cheddars and blue cheeses. I am thrilled to write for The Cheese Professor, and I hope you enjoy my contributions.

Cheese can be quiet or loud, and one of the most outspoken groups of cheeses in the world is blue cheese. There is some evidence and a popular notion that not everyone who loves cheese will love blue cheese, but it might also be said that anyone who loves cheese, ought to at least give blues a chance. 

“I adore blue cheese,” says Elizabeth Nerud, a cheesemonger at Kowalski’s Markets, a chain of specialty grocery stores in suburban Minneapolis. “I find it agreeably pungent, peppery, and lively. It is a cheese that has pizzazz, and definitely charm.” 

I share Liz’s fondness for blue cheese. I like the subtle blues and the outrageous ones, and I love sharing them with customers. At the Potash Markets, we run a cheese of the month program that lets us feature numerous blues from American artisans and from around the world. 

"Danish Blue Cheese" by StuartWebster is licensed underCC BY 2.0

Blues Around the World 

Blue cheese, by definition, is a cheese that has been affected by a couple of well-identified strains of penicillin mold. Blues can be made with any milk suitable for making cheese. One of the world’s most renowned blue-veined wheels is Roquefort, which is made from sheep’s milk.  Blue cheese is made in pretty much every country famous for its cheese. England has Blue Stilton, France has Roquefort and many other moldy beauties, Italy has multiple versions of the famous Gorgonzola, and Spain makes Valdeon, Cabrales, and other distinctive blues from goats, sheep and cows milk. 

"Gorgonzola Dolce di Montagna" by F. D. Richards is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

One of Denmark’s contributions to the cheese world is Dana Blu. a cheese with a protected geographical indication mark. It’s a lemony, creamy blue that might be to blue cheese as Pilsner is to beer—a recognizable standard so ubiquitous that it is sometimes thought to be the ONLY style. In the US, we find an ever-growing array of outstanding blues, many inspired by old-world classics, but others that are…other-worldly.  Without the restrictions of designations of origin, American artisans are crafting blue cheeses from a variety of milks, sometimes mixed, and they have invented hybrid styles and elevated simple blues by washing them with liqueurs and whiskeys and wrapping them in leaves. Blue cheeses are made on farms, in small creameries, and in dedicated factories.

While these are all blues, they each have dramatically different flavors, textures and aromas.  Gorgonzola Dolce, a protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese , is a the younger variant compared to Gorgonzola Natural (aka Picante). I have carried both at our store, but the dolce is really amazing with its springy texture. It’s so lightly pressed, that a fat wedge of dolce plopped on a scale is much lighter than a skimpier serving of a dense cheese. Stilton on the other hand is harder and crumbly, with aromas of damp earth, and deep savory flavors. 

"File:Blue Stilton 01.jpg" by Coyau is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

There are vast differences, even when you look at just those most famous blues, says Lydia Burns, a Chicago-based consultant and cheese educator, “They all have blue mold, but beyond that they are quite diverse in how they are made and how they are aged--maybe more than other types of cheese,” says Burns, whose clients include Kendall College, the top culinary school in Chicago, and The Rogers Collection, a Maine-based food importer. “Alpines are a family of cheese, and they are made in a similar way, whereas with the blues, a Stilton PDO is completely different from a Gorgonzola, even though they both have a natural rind, which many blue cheeses don’t have. The way they are made, from milk to form is really very different for those classic blues.” 

Making Blue Cheese

There are some generalities to blue cheeses and how they are made. Mold spores are introduced deliberately to the milk in the cheese vat, or to the curds during the cheese-making process. Sometimes mold is applied to the finished cheese.  It’s mostly a misnomer that mold is injected into cheeses. The piercings evident in many blues are there to allow air to reach the spores, promoting the development of the mold veins inside the cheese. As with non-blue cheeses, the complex flavors and aromas come from the breakdown of milk fats. The mold development also contributes to how the cheese tastes.

The peppery note of a good blue is crucial to the overall impression, but it needs to be in balance. That piquancy should complement the sweet or savory foundational flavor, rather than overwhelm it.  Cheese judges sometimes refer to “blue attack.” In a grouping of the world’s best blue cheeses, some would be mild in their attack, others would be evenly balanced with other components and some would clobber you over the head with acid bite, but none should be one dimensional.  

Cooking with Blue

"Steak Salad" by Kevin H. is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Blue cheeses are great for pairing and cooking.  They provide a bold exclamation point at the end of a cheese plate.  They are famously tossed into salads, and melted on meats. Those blue cheeses with the most assertive flavors can stand up to the most full-flavored beverages including dessert wines, strong beers, bold coffee, and distilled spirits. 

A good cheesemonger can help you find blue cheese that will appeal to you. As with other cheeses, it is best to have your blue cut from the wheel and wrapped properly and best to keep it only for a time that is appropriate to the individual cheese.