Blue Cheese – Please help me like it.

[SylviaLovegren]

If you go to that big cheese store in Kensington Market, ask for a taste of dolcelatte. Lovely stuff.

I usually head over to St. Lawrence Market on Saturday mornings (or Friday evenings if I don't feel like being crowded shoulder to shoulder). They have three or four different cheesmongers there and I've never had a problem finding anything that I was looking for, plus it only takes me about 20min to walk there.

Go Saturday morning to the farmer's market across the street from St. L and visit the Monforte Dairy cheese stand. They have wonderful stuff, and an occasional blue (they're experimenting with them) and are very generous with samples. And ask if they have "Bliss" -- not a blue but a soft brie-style triple cream. Aptly named.

I've loved blue cheese since first taste of Marie's Salad Dressing when I was in elementary school and can't even imagine not liking it. But persevere! I've been trying to like oysters for 30 years and I'm sure one of these days it will happen

[Marie-Ora]

Gorgonzola with caramelized onions - in a sandwich, on a salad, I've even melted the Gorgonzola and served it as a pasta sauce with the onions scattered on top. It's a fabulous combination.

[Dave Hatfield]

Why hasn't anybody mentioned Stilton?

Stilton & port are one of the great flavor combinations.

Stilton by the way is the same 'mold' as Roquefort, but made with cows milk.

[AAQuesada]

I tend to think if he doesn't like Bleu d'Auvergne he just wont like any blue. There is nothing wrong with that, although I get the desire to keep trying. I still spit up uni at good sushi bars because people think that this time I'll like it. (what can I say, I just don't like the texture).

But go ahead and try Maytag, that is a good gateway blue. Milder and creamy not too salty/sharp.

[nickrey]

Try it on oat crackers (the Scottish type). While we're on things scottish, blue goes exceptionally well with peaty pure malt whisky. You could also try blue Castello, it is again a soft introduction to blue cheese. Another way of trying the flavour is to use a little in a cream-based pasta sauce over fettucine (the cream and the pasta moderate the flavour) just don't overheat it as it splits.

[Jaymes]

Why hasn't anybody mentioned Stilton?

Stilton & port are one of the great flavor combinations.

Stilton by the way is the same 'mold' as Roquefort, but made with cows milk.

Um.....I did.

Way back here:

My experience is clearly not yours because I've loved bleu cheeses since my first taste of the stuff at about ten years old. And for me, the "bleusier" the better, with funky Stilton my favorite. I'll eat it straight - no crackers, no nothing. But it's particularly wonderful with slices of juicy pear. The perfect lunch. And that's a combination I'd suggest you try.

But for serving to guests, I drizzle the wedge with good honey, and then top with walnuts. It's terrific.

Edited June 20, 2012 by Jaymes (log)

[prasantrin]

If you go to that big cheese store in Kensington Market, ask for a taste of dolcelatte. Lovely stuff.

I usually head over to St. Lawrence Market on Saturday mornings (or Friday evenings if I don't feel like being crowded shoulder to shoulder). They have three or four different cheesmongers there and I've never had a problem finding anything that I was looking for, plus it only takes me about 20min to walk there.

It doesn't really matter to me where you get it. I only mentioned that particular place because a) you're in TO and b) that's where I first tried it, so I know it's available there.

But you're welcome for the suggestion.

Edited June 20, 2012 by prasantrin (log)

[patrickamory]

I was also going to recommend Stilton. If you can find "Stichelton," which is made from unpasteurized milk and homemade rennet, then that's even better. Neals Yard Dairy do an amazing one.

[ChrisZ]

I like blue cheeses (especially gnocchi with a blue cheese sauce), but when my flatmate came home with a pot of Stilton, I noticed that every time I ate some I had the most incredibly vivid and utterly crazy dreams. This has only happened with Stilton and none of the other blue cheeses I've tried (I don't think I've tried Roquefort). I even Googled it to see if I was alone and found that it's quite common, even though there's no scientific explanation and it's dismissed as a myth. But it's something I noticed first and read about second - for me, Stilton really does give me crazy dreams!

(blue cheese with ripe figs and walnuts is great)

[haresfur]

You could try watching the scene with Elle MacPherson eating Stilton in Sirens and see if the positive association helps.

[Catherine Iino]

I'm with you, TylerK. I consider it one of my great failings, but I just can't get beyond the moldy taste. I love smelly cheeses, and rich ones, and pungent ones, so it's none of those qualities that's the problem. Just the mold.

[Dave Hatfield]

My experience is clearly not yours because I've loved bleu cheeses since my first taste of the stuff at about ten years old. And for me, the "bleusier" the better, with funky Stilton my favorite. I'll eat it straight - no crackers, no nothing. But it's particularly wonderful with slices of juicy pear. The perfect lunch. And that's a combination I'd suggest you try.

But for serving to guests, I drizzle the wedge with good honey, and then top with walnuts. It's terrific.

My abject apologies! Somehow I missed your post. Possibly the honey threw me off.

Edited June 21, 2012 by heidih
Add quote tags (log)

[Chris Hennes]

In wonder if maybe trying the milder cheeses isn't the answer: maybe the taste of a more piquant blue will decrease the tastes you don't care for.

[wingbatwu]

You could also eat it as a hamburger topping.

The Works has a few burgers with blue cheese.

[Chris Hennes]

Mmm, bacon and blue cheese burgers: one of the world's great foods.

[abooja]

Whatever you do, don't eat a Wendy's BLT Cobb Salad and think that will change your mind. It didn't for me. It just irked me that the taste of perfectly good bacon was spoiled by those tiny blue cheese crumbles. I'm sure they use crap blue cheese, and perhaps that didn't help, but it was not the transcendent experience I was hoping it would be. Silly, I know.

[TylerK]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. For a first pass, I'm going to try to find the following cheeses tonight on my way home from work:

Saint Agur

Dolcelatte

Bleu d'Auvergne

Shropshire Blue

Gorgonzola

Roquefort

Stilton

From what you've all said, that looks like a good mix of milder/stronger cheeses. Hopefully I'll be able to find the majority of them, and that they'll let me buy them in small amounts.

One more question....If I'm tasting these consecutively, is there a good way to cleanse the palette between bites?

[Jaymes]

I'm with you, TylerK. I consider it one of my great failings, but I just can't get beyond the moldy taste. I love smelly cheeses, and rich ones, and pungent ones, so it's none of those qualities that's the problem. Just the mold.

Whereas for me, the blue bits are the best part.

Yum. Crunchy.

[Chris Amirault]

Another combination that's pretty damned skippy is bacon. (Insert "bacon makes everything better" joke here.)

[janeer]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. For a first pass, I'm going to try to find the following cheeses tonight on my way home from work:

Saint Agur

Dolcelatte

Bleu d'Auvergne

Shropshire Blue

Gorgonzola

Roquefort

Stilton

From what you've all said, that looks like a good mix of milder/stronger cheeses. Hopefully I'll be able to find the majority of them, and that they'll let me buy them in small amounts.

One more question....If I'm tasting these consecutively, is there a good way to cleanse the palette between bites?

I need to plug Maytag again. From what you've said, I think you are going to find Roquefort and especially Stilton rough going. I love them both, but...Maytag is universal. Just have a little dry white wine between them.

[TylerK]

Got some port and some pears, and managed to find all the cheeses I listed in my last post. Tried a small piece of six of them so far. The Shropshire blue I've found to be the most musty so far, but it has a nice salty kick to it, and melted in my mouth. The Stilton was my favorite oddly enough though. Called Thomas Hoe Stilton, it was nutty, a pleasant level of salt, very little mustiness to it, and had a really nice complex flavour compared to the others. I would definitely buy this one again.

[TylerK]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. For a first pass, I'm going to try to find the following cheeses tonight on my way home from work:

Saint Agur

Dolcelatte

Bleu d'Auvergne

Shropshire Blue

Gorgonzola

Roquefort

Stilton

From what you've all said, that looks like a good mix of milder/stronger cheeses. Hopefully I'll be able to find the majority of them, and that they'll let me buy them in small amounts.

One more question....If I'm tasting these consecutively, is there a good way to cleanse the palette between bites?

I need to plug Maytag again. From what you've said, I think you are going to find Roquefort and especially Stilton rough going. I love them both, but...Maytag is universal. Just have a little dry white wine between them.

The Roquefort was definitely a little rough. I can see it being nice in small doses with something sweet like the port, but it was probably my least favorite of the bunch. The Stilton on the other hand was quite nice. I'll have to give the maytag a try on my next trip to the market...they have so many blues there.

[haresfur]

The Roquefort was definitely a little rough. I can see it being nice in small doses with something sweet like the port, but it was probably my least favorite of the bunch. The Stilton on the other hand was quite nice. I'll have to give the maytag a try on my next trip to the market...they have so many blues there.

I was just thinking that "dose" is an important point. Many of us are too used to grabbing great gobs of cheese. I think this is a case where less is more.

Oh, and Gorgonzola stuffed dates are nice.

[Katie Meadow]

Of all the cheeses on your list, by far my favorite is Stilton. A great lunch or light dinner when pears are in season is Stilton on a plain cracker, a juicy pear and a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale or some other medium-dark beer. And for a decadent treat, try spreading a little sweet butter underneath the Stilton. Heavenly.

I'm not big on cheese for dessert, but Stilton drizzled with honey and a scatter of toasted hazelnuts is pretty yummy. And with that I would want a nice cup of tea.

[Dave Hatfield]

TylerK, glad you're coming around a bit on the blue cheeses.

I'm also glad that Stilton is your favorite so far. We have friends who live in the heart of Rutland where Stilton comes from & they'll be delighted.

Another thought has occurred to me. Try some Blue de Bresse if you can find it. Its not that far off Stilton in taste. Very nutty & not too sharp.

You have to be a bit careful with it though as a big coop has taken over a lot of the Blue de Bresse production (they sell it in small round cartons); its so mild as to be nearly tasteless. You need to find the farm made type if possible. This comes in much larger rounds which then get sliced up.