What are the Best Blue Cheeses to Cook With?

There is plenty of distinctive kind of cheese out there that have their own personality but there’s one group that stands out from the crowd (or the supermarket shelf). That’s the blue cheeses, those white or yellow cheeses with distinctive lines of blue on them. While not everyone may love them, they have an amazing taste although not always such an amazing smell!

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But what about cooking with them? What are the best blue cheeses to cook with and what kind of special recipe can you make with them?

What is blue cheese?

Blue cheeses come in loads of different varieties from creamy to crumbly but all have those blue veins in them. Yes, this is mould but not in the bad way of a block of cheddar that’s sat in the fridge too long.

In fact, the mould is purposefully added by the cheesemaker to break down the cheese and enhance the flavour. The moulds are types of penicillin, the same kind of stuff that’s used to make anti-biotics but there are some 600 strains of penicillin so it is a different one.

The reason it works is that these penicillin moulds don’t create something called mycotoxins. These are the things in other types of mould that can make us sick or feel ill. That means it is a safe way to enhance the cheese. There are even specific ones that make certain cheeses such as Penicillium roqueforti that is used for Roquefort cheese.

Famous blue cheeses

The most famous blue cheeses tend to come from France, Italy and the UK. But there are now cheeses using this same method made around the world, some with blue veins, some with black or grey or even spots of mould in the middle.

But some of the most famous blue cheeses include:

• Roquefort (1) – this is a French cheese made from sheep’s milk that is aged in the limestone cliffs of the south of France. It has a crumbly texture and blue veins with a creamy taste and sharp smell
• Gorgonzola (2) – this is Italian cheese and my favourite blue cheese. It comes from cow’s milk and is soft, buttery and very creamy. You can get aged versions that are stronger
• Stilton (3) – this comes from England, is made with cow’s milk and has a crumbly texture with a nutty and salty flavour that’s still quite creamy. It is a strong blue cheese that’s a bit of an acquired taste and always seems to smell stronger than it tastes! It is best popular for things like broccoli and stilton soup
• Danish blue cheese (4) – or Danablu comes from Denmark and is made from cow’s milk and has a sharp and salty flavour. It is often said to be similar to Roquefort but milder

Best blue cheeses to cook with

One of the great things about blue cheese is that nearly any of them are great to cook with. You might not want to cook with a really expensive version but otherwise, the various ones available in supermarkets are all pretty good for cooking.

A lot depends on what you can get. Here in the UK, you can easily pick up things like Roquefort, Saint Agur, Castillo Blue and Danish Blue. Gorgonzola isn’t too hard to find and almost any shop will stock Stilton. But things like Spanish Cabrales and American Maytag Blue are harder to find.

Some recipes will stipulate a specific blue cheese in them while others simply say that you need some blue cheese so you can use any leftover blue cheese you have in the fridge. Some might recommend a creamy blue cheese so you can pick any that fit that description.  Or if it just says ‘blue cheese’, you can test your favourite or see how different cheese works in different dishes.

Blue cheese textures

Most blue cheeses will be described in one of three ways and these will help you choose the right one:

• Creamy and buttery – can be spread like butter and usually have a softer flavour with fewer blue veins. Cambozola is an example
• Creamy and crumbly – will crumble nicely into large or smaller pieces but still creamy flavour. Roquefort is an example
• Creamy and firm – you can cut these into wedges and generally they are a little drier. They will still melt but might take a little longer. Stilton is an example

Blue cheese recipes and ideas

There is no shortage of things you can make with blue cheese but there are a few basics that you can start with.

Blue cheese dressing

A simple blue cheese salad dressing is more than just something to pop on salad or pear slices – it is perfect as a dip too and is often served with things like buffalo wings. You can sometimes buy a nice one in the store but it is easy to make and you can pick your favourite cheese.

Most blue cheese dressings will use a mixture of sour cream and mayonnaise, sometimes with buttermilk in it. Garlic, pepper and sometimes a little mustard is added, similar to a cheese dressing. Worcestershire sauce and a little salt are some of the other ingredients I’ve seen which always seem weird but who am I to question?

Blue cheese sauce

Blue cheese sauce is commonly used on things like steak or other meat dishes. It is almost like a warm version of the dressing and often simpler. An example could be to use ½ cup heavy cream, ⅓ pound crumbled blue cheese and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

Warm the cream in a small saucepan until it thickens then add half the cheese. Mash it and stir it in until the lumps are gone then add the Worcestershire sauce and simmer. Once it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon, mix the rest of the cheese in and serve warm.

Blue cheese with pasta

You could add either the dressing or the sauce to cold or hot pasta but it might be a little overwhelming. Instead, you can simply mix some blue cheese with the pasta to create a creamy blue cheese pasta dish.  

Take ½ pound of your favourite type of pasta and 2 tbsp unsalted butter (remember, blue cheese is always salty). Take ⅓ pound of blue cheese and ¼ cup fresh parsley. Cook the pasta and keep a little water back. Add the butter to the pot, add the pasta and stir in the blue cheese so it melts. Use a little pasta water so that the pasta doesn’t clump then stir in parsley and serve.

Blue cheese on a burger or pork chops

Perhaps the simplest way to cook with blue cheese is to add it to something like burgers or pork chops. We like to cut it into thick slices then when the meat is cooked, pop it into the oven or under the grill with the cheese on it. It will melt and warm up then serve before it melts too much. Perfect!

Yield: 8 sliders

Bacon Blue Cheese and Mushroom Mini Sliders

Print

Try cooking with blue cheese with this simple slider idea featuring blue cheese and bacon

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 t. Dijon mustard 
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 T. white onion, finely minced
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided 
• 4 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
• 3 oz. crumbled blue cheese
• 3 strips bacon, cut into thirds and cooked

Instructions

1. Preheat oven broiler to high and set the top oven rack to the second-highest position. 
2. Add ground beef, mustard, garlic, and onion to a medium bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and mix with a fork or your fingers until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. 
3. Divide beef mixture into 8 portions and shape each into small patties. Set patties on a plate and gently press each with your thumb in the centre to keep them from puffing up while cooking. Set aside. 
4. Heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, oven-safe skillet. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are nicely browned, approximately 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer mushrooms to a small bowl and set aside. 
5. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom. Add slider patties to the skillet and cook until brown on each side, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. 
6. Remove from heat and top each slider with sautéed mushrooms and crumbled blue cheese. Place skillet in oven under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until blue cheese starts to melt. 
7. Remove skillet from oven and top each slider with a piece of bacon and serve immediately on a bed of lettuce and with a side of steamed broccoli, if desired.

Notes

 

Optional Side Dish: 1 12-oz. package frozen broccoli, steamed

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 317mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 20g

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