Randy Chandler
Blue cheese is a polarising food—it was listed as one of the most hated foods in the UK, yet it also won the title of the Greatest Cheese in the World at the World Cheese Awards. Its strong flavour and distinctive blue veins are off-putting to some, but for others, it's a culinary wonder. If you're looking to acquire a taste for blue cheese, there are some tips and tricks you can try. Starting with a milder variety, such as Cambozola or Bayley Hazen Blue, and pairing it with sweet foods like honey, fruit, or jam, can help balance out the sharpness. Gradually, you can work your way up to stronger varieties and discover the wonderful funk of blue cheese.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Blue cheese is an acquired taste | Its strong flavor and aroma come from the breakdown of milk fats and the metabolism of blue mold. |
| Reasons for dislike | Butyric acid in blue cheese tastes like vomit to some people. |
| The blue mold in blue cheese may remind people of spoiled food. | |
| Ways to appreciate blue cheese | Pair with sweet elements like bread, fruits, jams, syrups, and sweet wines to balance out sharp and salty notes. |
| Try milder blue cheeses like Bayley Hazen Blue or Persille de Rambouillet, which have less prominent blue molding. | |
| Add blue cheese to a sauce or salad dressing to dilute its strong flavor. | |
| Recommended blue cheeses | Cambozola |
| St. Augur | |
| Maytag |
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What You'll Learn
Start with milder blue cheeses
If you're new to blue cheese, it's best to start with milder varieties. Blue cheese is made by piercing wheels of white cheese with stainless steel needles, creating crevices for oxygen to enter and react with the cultures and microbes in the cheese to produce mould. The mould in blue cheese is from one or more strains of the genus Penicillium, which is different from the mould found in fridges. Despite this, the blue colour can be off-putting to some.
One option for a milder blue cheese is Cambozola, a triple cream with blue cheese added. It has been described as a blue brie hybrid, with a mild, brie-like flavour and intriguing bubbles of aromatic mustiness. Another option is St. Agur, a deliciously creamy mild blue cheese.
If you're looking for a blue cheese without aggressive moulding, try Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm or Persille de Rambouillet. These cheeses have a super-friendly white paste reminiscent of ice cream or cottage cheese, and you can eat around the blue if you need to.
When it comes to milder blue cheeses, it's also worth trying Chiriboga Blue, which tastes like the blue cheese version of butter. You could also try Maytag or a similar variety, which is not too "offensive" and a good starting point. These milder blue cheeses pair well with sweet foods such as fruit (pears, apples, honey, and dates), jam, and even chocolate.
In addition to eating milder blue cheeses on their own, you can also try adding them to other dishes. Blue cheese can be a great addition to salads, pasta, burgers, or steak. You can also try baking it, as the direct heat will blow off some of the whiff.
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Pair with sweet foods
If you're trying to learn to like blue cheese, pairing it with sweet foods is a great way to start. Blue cheese has a strong flavour and smell, often described as "funky", which can be off-putting to some people. However, its natural sweetness can be emphasised by pairing it with sweet elements such as bread, fruits, jams, syrups, and sweet wines.
One way to incorporate blue cheese into your diet is to add it to a burger, which will bring out its rich and savoury characteristics. You could also try it in a salad with sharp onions and peppery arugula, or with a juicy New England IPA. If you're a novice, opt for sweeter, subtler blues such as Bayley Hazen Blue or Persille de Rambouillet, which have a super-friendly white paste reminiscent of ice cream or cottage cheese.
For a true blue cheese experience, try pairing it with honey. Drizzling honey over your blue cheese can make it more palatable, especially if you're not used to the strong flavour. You can also try pairing blue cheese with fruits like pears, apples, or figs. A particularly indulgent option is to stuff medjool dates with blue cheese and wrap them in prosciutto.
If you're feeling adventurous, you can add blue cheese to a variety of dishes. Try spreading it on crackers or garlic crackers, or mixing it with cream cheese to make it more spreadable. You can also add blue cheese to a sandwich with roast beef and thinly sliced pear, or crumble it into the buttered breadcrumb topping of a baked mac and cheese.
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Try it in a sauce
If you're not a fan of blue cheese on its own, trying it in a sauce is a great way to start appreciating this culinary wonder. Sauces are a fantastic way to mellow the flavour of blue cheese, especially if you find it too strong, funky, or salty.
A popular choice is to make a creamy cheese sauce for pasta. One option is to heat full cream with blue cheese in a skillet and then add this sauce to cooked pasta. You can adjust the ratio of cheese to cream depending on how strong the blue cheese is and your personal preference. Another option is to make a basic cheese roux, although some people believe that the blue cheese flavour will still be too strong even when mellowed with a roux. If you want to try a blue cheese sauce with pasta, it's recommended to start with a milder blue cheese, such as Bayley Hazen Blue or Persille de Rambouillet, which have a super-friendly white paste.
You can also add blue cheese to a salad dressing, which will have way more ingredients than the blue cheese itself and will ramp down its flavour. A simple dressing can be made with mayo, sour cream, Greek yoghurt, garlic powder, lemon juice, and salt, with as much blue cheese as you want up to equal parts with the mayo or sour cream. This dressing can be served on any salad, as a dip, or with wings.
If you're feeling adventurous, you can also try making a blue cheese sauce to accompany a steak. This combination might just surprise you with how delicious it is!
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Balance with other flavours
Blue cheese is often described as an acquired taste, and some people may never acquire it. The strong flavour of blue cheese comes from the breakdown of milk fats and the metabolism of blue mould, which produces a chemical compound called 2-Pentanone. This compound may be the reason why some people find blue cheese unpalatable.
However, if you are looking to acquire a taste for blue cheese, one way to do so is by balancing its strong flavour with other flavours. Here are some suggestions:
- Sweet elements: Blue cheese has natural sweet notes, and pairing it with other sweet elements can help to balance out its sharper and saltier flavours. Try pairing it with sweet foods such as honey, fruit, jams, syrups, or sweet wines. A popular combination is blue cheese with honey and figs on a cracker. Another suggestion is to pair blue cheese with pears or apples, as the sweetness of the fruit can help to mellow the flavour of the cheese.
- Salads: Adding blue cheese to a salad can help to balance its flavour with the other ingredients. Try pairing it with sharp onions and peppery arugula. You can also add other sweet elements to the salad, such as fruit or a sweet dressing.
- Pasta: Blue cheese can be added to pasta dishes, either as a sauce or mixed into the pasta itself. By adjusting the amount of blue cheese used and combining it with other ingredients, such as cream, sausage, or butternut squash, you can balance its flavour to your taste.
- Sandwiches: Blue cheese can be spread on sandwiches, either on its own or mixed with cream cheese to make it more spreadable. Try pairing it with thinly sliced pear or roast beef.
- Meat: Blue cheese can be paired with meat, such as steak or beef, to balance its flavour. A small amount of blue cheese on steak is a popular combination that may help you acquire a taste for blue cheese.
- Other combinations: Blue cheese can also be enjoyed in a variety of other combinations, such as stuffed in medjool dates, wrapped in prosciutto, or added to a mac and cheese. It can also be baked, grated, or spread on crackers.
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Overcome the 'vomit factor'
The "vomit factor" of blue cheese is due to the presence of butyric acid, which is also found in rancid butter. This is a deal-breaker for some people, especially those with sensitive palates, and it may be an insurmountable obstacle for those who are so-called "supertasters".
However, there are ways to try and overcome this. Firstly, it may be a matter of exposure and experience. Blue cheese reticence could be based on a lack of experience with different types of blue cheese, and perhaps an initial negative experience with a blue cheese that was too strong. It is worth trying milder blue cheeses, such as Bayley Hazen Blue, from Jasper Hill Farm, or Persille de Rambouillet, which have a super-friendly white paste and less aggressive moulding. Penicillium glaucum is a lighter blue mould that tastes like toasted hazelnuts and chocolate.
Another way to overcome the vomit factor is to pair blue cheese with sweet elements, which can balance out the sharper and saltier notes. Sweet crackers, bread, fruits, jams, syrups, and sweet wines can all be paired with blue cheese to make it more palatable. In particular, honey is often suggested as a good pairing with blue cheese, as are pears and apples. Adding blue cheese to a salad with other strong flavours, such as sharp onions and peppery arugula, can also help to balance out the vomit factor.
If you find the flavour of blue cheese too strong, you could try diluting it by adding it to a sauce, a pasta dish, or a salad dressing. However, one source notes that while you can dilute the flavour of strong blue cheese, you can't completely transform it.
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Frequently asked questions
If you find the flavor of blue cheese too strong, you can try diluting it by adding it to a sauce, a salad, or a sandwich. You can also try pairing it with something sweet, like honey, fruit, or jam, to balance out the sharper and saltier notes.
The funkiness of blue cheese comes from the breakdown of milk fats and the metabolism of blue mold, which creates chemical compounds known as ketones, specifically one called 2-Pentanone.
Some milder blue cheeses that may be good for beginners include Cambozola, Bayley Hazen Blue, and Persille de Rambouillet.
