Blog Post by Cheesenotes.com, based on New York Magazine’s Feb 24 article titled “From Adelegger to Zimbro, 50 Runny, Yummy, Crumbly Cheeses to Eat Now”
Dunbarton Blue, from Roelli Cheese in Wisconsin, is a bit of an odd bird. A lightly blue-veined cheddar, unlike most all other blue cheeses, it is pressed in the mold as with any cheddar, which compresses the curds, limiting the channels by which the penicilium roqueforti would normally work its way through the cheese. This is done deliberately to control the bluing, so that the blue mold grows only to a limited degree, mostly tracing the piercings made by the cheesemakers, leading to the arrow-straight blue veins running through the cheese.
A natural-rinded wheel, in flavor it is comparable to a bandaged cheddar, drier and flakier but with a deep, complex flavor, tangy, briny, meaty and full. The herbaceous sweetness and peppery bite of the bluing are subtle, more an overtone than a front and center element of the flavor profile, but blend perfectly.
A lovely cheese in it’s own right, but also a good starter cheese for those with a phobia for the blue-molded varieties. The gentle bluing of Dunbarton can serve as a gateway substance. Get them started on this and who knows, they might be eating Queso de Cabrales before the year is out!
Read Full Cheesenotes.com’s post: http://cheesenotes.com/post/78159698231/nymag-50-cheeses
(Photos ©2014 New York Magazine)
