Blue cheese

Fromage bleu

What it is

One mould makes the whole family: Penicillium roqueforti, needled into the wheel so that air can reach it, blooms blue-green wherever it finds oxygen — Roquefort and bleu d’Auvergne in France, Stilton in England, Gorgonzola in Italy. The veins are its breathing paths, and the salt, always heavy, is what stops it from taking the whole cheese.

In the kitchen

Its salt and power beg for sweetness: pears, figs, honey, sweet wines. Crumbled over a hot steak, it becomes an instant sauce.

Goes with

Pear Walnut Honey Fig Celery Grape Beef

Same species

Roquefort

Also used with

Fir honeydew honey Heather honey Honeycomb Leatherwood honey Manuka honey Moscatel vinegar

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