2012 American Cheese Month 31 Cheeses in 31 Days: Day Five: Black River Blue

Cheese: Black River Blue

Who: North Hendren Co-Op Dairy

Website: http://www.northhendrenbluecheese.com/

Where: Willard, Wisconsin

Milk Type: cow, pasteurized

Texture: semi-firm like cold butter, dense to crumbly

Rind: blue

Shape: 6lb wheel

Flavor: Creamy, tangy and sharp, a little salty

What a delightful blue! Is it possible that Minnesota & Wisconsin might be the true heart of Blues? Black River Blue possesses a robust blue taste but mild enough to eat plain… I’m eating it now with no accompaniments. The flavor is classic blue but with plenty of sweet, salty cream, notes of beef and little of the strong barnyard flavor that puts some off. I’ll be making blue cheese biscuits perhaps as the texture will lend itself well to cooking… easy to crumble over salad or lay a slab atop a ribeye hot off the grill with fresh mushrooms.

It’s clean, creamy and easy to eat. Delicious.

By the way- interesting bit of history as well. For decades, North Hendren made commodity cheese labelled under other brands. Then giant Land O’Lakes stopped buying their milk. Read how they retooled and refocused on these delicious blues. Hmmm… Land O’Lakes or North Hendren? I’ll easily choose the latter.