I’m so Blue…
/Hello Cheese Enthusiasts!
I have to admit it…March 2021 hit me much harder than I would have expected…it was then I realized that it had been a full year since everything shut down, travel stopped, people isolated, and it yet remains to be determined if it will ever return to the way it was.
To keep a smile on my face, I remind myself of the things that I am grateful for, and the things that bring me joy (cue Julie Andrews singing about “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens”).
In my case, its Blue cheese….whether you call it Fromage bleu, Queso azul, or Blauer Käse, it is universal in any language. It can be spicy or mild, creamy or crumbly, made from cow, goat, or sheep’s milk, it doesn’t matter to me.
I think I love it in part due to it goes against everything we are taught as children…”That food is moldy, throw it out!”…and yet here I am, enjoying every last bite.
In March of 2020, I was in the middle of a training seminar where some of my best cheese colleagues were present, training a team of cheesemongers on our cheeses. It was at this same event that I tasted a “new” blue cheese…well, at least it was new to me.
Quesos La Peral – Made from pasteurized cow’s milk, this beauty (photo above) is produced in La Peral, Spain (La Peral is one of three parishes in Illas, a municipality of Asturias in Northern Spain). The cheese is pale yellow in color, creamy, and mildly spicy. The cheese is then matured for a minimum of two months and up to five months before being sold. It is produced by Quesería La Peral, which was founded in 1923 by Antonio León Álvarez.
Looking through my tasting notes, here are some of the previous Blue cheeses that I have reviewed:
· French Bleu d’Auvergne and Fourme d’Ambert – Read it here
· French Roquefort – Read it here and here
· British Stilton – Read it here
· American Old Chatham Sheep and Goat Blues – Read it here
· American Sequatchie Cove Creamery, Shakerag Blue – Read it here
Now let me add several more blues that I want to share with you…
Penta Crème™ image courtesy of Wisconsin Cheese Masters
Carr Valley Cheese, Penta Crème™ Cheese – Self-described as “A Revolutionary five crème blue, the most decadent blue available from Carr Valley!” While this is a good start (and attention grabber), the back story is even better.
The Carr Valley Cheese company has been in business since 1902. Today, it is led by Certified Master Cheesemaker, Sid Cook who is part of the 4thgeneration of family to run it. Sid received his cheesemaking license when he was just 16, and has won numerous National and International awards. Carr Valley has four plants and eight retail stores. This beautiful, creamy blue is produced in their Glacier Point, Wisconsin plant.
The cheese world took notice when Carr Valley brought home several awards for Glacier Penta Crème™; first in 2019 at the International Cheese Awards, named “Best US Cheese”, and in 2020, it was awarded 2nd Place 2020 World Championship Cheese Contest. Simply a wonderful cow’s milk blue!
Blacksticks Blue
And lastly, the showstopper….Blacksticks Blue® by Butler’s Farmhouse Cheeses! Not only visually eye catching on your cheese board, but has such a wonderful depth of flavor and creaminess…No wonder their catchphrase is “A Taste of the Unexpected”. I could just hear that being a quote from one of the 2019 International Cheese & Dairy Awards as it walked away with a gold medal.
This cheese is made with love, using traditional handmade methods in their Lancashire, England family dairy with the rich milk produced by the herds from just over the road at Lower Barker Farm. It is crafted in open vats, then poured into individual moulds, turned by hand and matured under the watchful eyes of their cheese experts.
One of the greatest blues artist was Billie Holiday. She was once asked about singing the blues, to which she remarked “There’s two kinds of blues…There are happy blues and sad blues….I don’t think I ever sang the same way twice…I don’t think I sang the same tempo…Some nights are a little bit slower, and the next a little brighter on how I feel. The blues are kind of a mixed up thing…you just have to feel it, everything I do sing is part of my life.”
Well said Billie!...Lady, sing those blues while I enjoy this next slice…
Until next week,
Trevor
