A few of our favorite blue cheeses
We love blue cheese in our kitchen. Our favorite blue cheese to serve at appetizer time is Shropshire Blue cheese from England. Shropshire Blue originated in the 1970’s. It was made by a Scottish cheese-maker called Andy Williamson who was trained in the making of Stilton. Shropshire Blue has a flavour somewhere between Blue Cheshire and Blue Stilton, a creamy orange coloured paste with blue-green veining; annatto produces the orange colour and Penicillium roquefortii produces the veining. The cheese is essentially an orange coloured Stilton style cheese. It is made from pasteurised cows’ milk and using rennet suitable for vegetarians. The cheese is matured for 12 weeks but it can be matured for a further 12 weeks to produce a creamier fuller flavoured cheese. Shropshire Blue is excellent throughout the year. I enjoy Shropshire blue cheese just at our bar at appetizer time served with homemade crackers.
Stilton is still made exclusively in the counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire from local milk. Only six dairies, using the original centuries-old recipe, are licensed to produce the creamy ivory-hued cheese. So esteemed is Stilton’s unique flavor and texture, it is the only British cheese graced with its own certification trademark. It is generally considered lighter than Italian Gorgonzola and richer than Danish blue. I like to serve Stilton with fresh fruit and a glass of fortified wine.
Gorgonzola is an Italian cows’ milk (and sometimes goats’ milk) cheese named after a village (Gorgonzola) that was once outside of Milan, but is now really a suburb of the city. The cheese dates back to the 9th century, with the blue/green mold developing accidentally sometime around the 11th century. As with most blue-veined cheeses, Gorgonzola was originally aged in caves and the blue veins of mold developed from spores naturally present in the caves. Today, again like most blue-veined cheeses, the mold spores are mixed right in with the curds in the cheese making process to maintain consistent standards. I like the creaminess of gorgonzola to add to pasta with a little cream and herbs for a quick dinner.
Nestled in among the rolling hills of central Iowa is the Maytag appliance factory. Down the road and around the corner is the Maytag Dairy, which produces Maytag Blue cheese, among other, lesser-known cheeses. Yes, the two are related. Fritz Maytag, son of the founder of the Maytag washing machine company, decided he wanted to make his own entrepreneurial mark on the world. Shortly before World War II, he began working with scientists at Iowa State University to begin making a great American blue cheese, modeled after those of Europe. The result was one of the first American farmstead cheeses of superior quality. The dairy is now independent of the appliance company and collects milk from a local dairy cooperative, rather than raising its own cows. Maytag cheese makers, however, are still hand-making the same cheese that they created in the 1930’s. Maytag Blue’s popularity has taken off with the growing interest in American farmstead cheeses, and this wonderful, tangy blue cheese is now featured on menus across the country. Its wonderful flavor, moist yet crumbly texture, and lemony finish make Maytag one of the world’s great blue cheeses.
