Creamy, delicious and exotic, blue cheese comes in many varieties, and is wonderful when eaten alone with fruit, or when used in cooking.
Blue cheese comes in a variety of types and is made using an interesting method of curing. It is highly possible that blue cheese was originally discovered quite by accident. At the time, many cheeses were stored in caves, and it is likely that the mold that grew on this type of cheese appeared because the cheese had been sitting in the cave too long. Someone may have had the courage to taste the moldy cheese, and realized that the flavors that the mold unlocked were rich and pungent. Blue cheese came into its own, and is often still aged in specially designed caves.
Blue cheese can be made from goat’s milk, cow’s milk or sheep’s milk, and usually has the mold injected into it before the aging process begins. Another way to introduce the mold spores into the cheese is by mixing them into the curds once they form. The mold spores are what give the blue cheese the blue or green veins that run through it, and also the beautiful, pungent aroma and flavor. Once the mold is added, the cheeses are either aged in the original caves that were used for this purpose, or in specially designed caves that were created by the cheese maker. The curing process can take as long as three full months before the cheese is ready for the marketplace.
There are a number of varieties of this cheese on the market today, but some of the most popular are Roquefort, Gorgonzola, and Danablu. In 1941, Maytag Blue Cheese was created in the United States by the dishwasher king, Fred Maytag II. This type of cheese was processed using pasteurized milk, and is aged in specially designed caves. Many of these types of cheeses that are made today must be manufactured in a particular area to sport the blue cheese name. This cheese can be eaten by itself, or crumbled over other dishes like salads and vegetable casseroles.
Blue cheese delights
In addition to the delicious blue cheese salad dressings on the market today, you can craft your own delicious beginning to a meal using pear halves nestled in a bed of baby greens. Add a light dressing, preferably your own using lemon juice, olive oil and a bit of seasoning, and sprinkle the cheese and toasted walnuts over the top. Bon a petit!
