The Blue Vein cheeses also called Blue cheese is made from pasteurised or unpasteurised cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk and ripened with cultures of the mould Penicillium.
The final product is, characterised by green, grey, blue or black veins or spots of mould throughout the body.
Veins are created during the production stage when cheese is spiked with stainless steel rods to let oxygen circulate and encourage the growth of the mould.
This process also softens the texture and develops a distinctive blue flavour.
Blue cheeses can be soft and creamy or crumbly in texture, with a sharp, piquant flavour.
They are often quite salty but should not be overly so, nor bitter.
