Breaking The Mold: 4 Blue Cheeses For Moldy Cheese Day
When most food gets mold, it’s the end of the line; that bowl of strawberries or loaf of bread is ready for the compost heap, not the dinner table. Cheese is another story entirely—we love mold in cheese so much that there’s even a day to celebrate it! Moldy Cheese Day is October 9th, and we’re celebrating by highlighting some of our favorite moldy cheeses—that is to say, blue cheeses!
Colston Bassett Stilton
Stilton, a pasteurized cow's milk cheese from England, is one of the world's most renowned blue cheeses. Full-flavored without being too piquant, its dark indigo veins spread through a deep ivory paste, giving the musty, buttery, and mushroomy cheese a slightly mineral tang. Neal's Yard Dairy selects only the best wheels of Stilton to age to perfection before sending them across the pond to our cheese case!
Dunbarton Blue
Made by American cheesemaking icon Chris Roelli, Dunbarton Blue is Roelli Cheese Haus' (WI) flagship cheese, and an unforgettable American original. Made with cow's milk and aged for at least 90 days in their cellars, Dunbarton Blue has a nutty, earthy, slightly beefy flavor with an approachably funky rind. While most blue cheeses are unpressed to allow the blue veins to develop throughout the paste, Dunbarton Blue is pressed, creating a thick and dense texture with a creamy, delicious bite and just a hint of spicy blue flavor!
Cayuga Blue
Named after Cayuga Lake in upstate New York, Cayuga Blue is made exclusively from Lively Run Dairy's own goat's milk! This 2017 American Cheese Society Awards winner has deep blue veins and complex mineral, mushroomy flavors. Aside from making great cheese, Lively Run has been doing some great work for their community during the pandemic by making cheese out of surplus milk and donating that cheese to food banks to help feed those affected by COVID-19. Try a piece of Cayuga Blue to both enjoy a delicious cheese and support a good cause!
Rogue River Blue
Let's give a warm welcome back to the first and only American cheese to ever be named the World Champion at the World Cheese Awards in 2019! A seasonal staple in cheese cases across the country, this vegetarian-friendly organic cow's milk cheese is made by Rogue Creamery in Oregon and coveted by cheesemongers and cheese consumers alike. After almost 12 months of aging in their caves, the Rogue Creamery team carefully wraps each wheel in organic and biodynamic Syrah grape leaves that have been soaked in pear brandy. The result is a creamy, bright cheese with vanilla, woodsy, fruity, and even slightly bacony notes that you simply won't be able to get enough of. But be careful, because there are a limited number of wheels released each year, so when it's gone, you'll have to wait until the next September for your next piece!
