Blue Cheese

Blues have a bit of a reputation for being the ‘punch in the face’ of the cheese world — but they’re far more nuanced than that. From soft and creamy to sweet or boldly savoury, there’s a whole spectrum to explore.

Before refrigeration and modern cheesemaking, blue mould spores naturally invaded other cheeses. Cheesemakers couldn’t stop them, people loved the restults, and so instead, they ran with them. Today, blues are carefully crafted by inoculating the milk with the spores, then piercing the cheese weeks later to let air in and help those blue veins flourish.

Blue mould naturally leans a little bitter, so cheesemakers add extra salt to balance it out. And so when it comes time to serve sweetness is your best friend — think fortified wines, fruit pastes, ripe pears, or chutneys to round out the flavour.