Blue mountains. Blue cheese

Blue cheeses have traditionally and historically been made in the fall. This is due to a lower temperature ‘affinage’ requirements compared with most other cheeses. Blue cheeses like to ripen in the cave around 51F. Our aging space has been hovering around 49F since middle of December, due to the lower outdoor temperature. A small heater kicks on if the temperature drops any lower than 49F. So with a bit of foresight, I was inspired in late November to make a few batches of blue. The milk was at a higher fat/milk ratio than earlier in the summer due to the late lactation of the herd. Blue cheese are also a higher fat cheese. So the ducks were all aligned.

As I opened up our first wheel of blue cheese yesterday, I instantly became very happy that I made a few batches before winter set in. This cheese has been my biggest surprise moment of cheese making from this past season. The first bite I took, I didn’t taste cheese, I tasted a lush earth, a misty mountain trail, and a strong and amazing burst of black peppercorns.