Questions about Blue Cheese

Blue veined cheese. Once it's cut, is it exposure to light or air or both that makes the blue veins start to turn green?

The Francophile said he wanted a better blue cheese to cook with. Last weekend's chicken stuffed with blue cheese hardly tasted of blue cheese at all, and he wanted to make some cauliflower and blue cheese soup...

Last Wednesday I dropped in to the market on the way home and bought a slice of blue cheese that had veins of beautiful inky blue. Unfortunately, the plans to make the soup on the Thursday got interrupted. When he got the blue cheese out this morning (Saturday) the blue veins had shifted in colour to be more green than blue, and the smell ... well, the faint whiff of old gym shoes was starting to develop.

So: how is blue cheese best handled? Should it always be kept wrapped in something opaque to block out the light? Any observations to share?

Hi Matilda, I am a huge fan of blue cheese and always have it on hand. I take off the top wrapping but keep the light foil wrap. Then I seal it back up with my Food Saver. It keeps any cheese very well for a long time. I always make sure to buy the Food Saver bags and they can be reused even after washing. I keep it in a crisper drawer with all the other cheeses

I love blue cheese.

I haven't had that problem with blue cheese unless the cheese is getting old.

When I store any type of cheese, I tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, put it in a plastic bag, and drop in a sugar cube, which helps cheese last longer w/o getting moldy. Try the sugar cube trick. It works.

Of course blue cheese is already moldy. The blue veins are the spore capsules of the mold that forms the cheese (usually some species of Penicillium).

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Karen!!!!! Welcome back! Every time there's a fire in your area I worry about you guys. Hope you and your family have survived things well.

Re blue cheese, I note that the 'blue' in Roquefort tends to be greener than other 'blues' so I've always supposed that the color is unique to the mold. Color also seems to be part of the aging process. Stilton is always a dark blue somewhat grayed by age where a young Danish would appear to be the same blue hue, just a younger and more vivid version.

Of course blue cheese is already moldy. The blue veins are the spore capsules of the mold that forms the cheese (usually some species of Penicillium.

-Paul W.

Which begs the joke: How can you tell if blue cheese has gotten moldy?

[Robin Garr]

Hi Matilda, I am a huge fan of blue cheese and always have it on hand. ...

Yes! Welcome back, Karen! It's good to see your smiling (type)face.

Matilda, I think it's the air, not the light, that causes the cheese to lose vigor (and get slimy and start to ammoniate). I agree with everyone else that it should be kept wrapped in plastic or wax paper, bagged, and kept in a cold drawer. A modest amount of slime is really just water and can be patted dry with a piece of paper towel. (There's no cure for ammonia.)

But I would also recommend, for yon husband, that you start with a stronger blue in the first place - they are not all created equal. St. Agur and Gorgonzola Dolce are rather mild; Fourme d'Ambert, Cabrales, and Gorgonzola Piccante are rather strong; most of the famous ones (Roquefort, Stilton, Roaring 40s, Danish, Maytag) are middling or variable in strength. I find Stilton to be particularly maddening... it's great or it's awful with no rhyme or reason.

[Jenise]

Speaking of cabrales, it's my favorite blue cheese of all. It's so buttery/nutty when it's right. Unfortunately haven't had it in years, we rarely see it in these here parts.

Blue cheese is alive. When kept tightly wrapped there isn't much oxygen and the mold that provides the blue color and the cheese's flavor is mostly dormant. Exposure to air wakes up the mold's metabolism. The slime and ammonia come from the mold feeding on the cheese.

-Paul W.

Hi Matilda, you might try some of the Berrys Creek blue cheeses if you see any. Very definite blue characters. From South Gippsland and they frequently win awards. My personal favourite is the Tarwin Blue (but I do live in a little town called Tarwin Lower .) for cheese board and in cooking.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. I look forward to keeping the Francophile's cheese in better condition, in future.
Thanks for the tip about Berry's Creek cheeses, Barb - I'll look out for the brand!