Great blue cheese is always about a balance of tension between opposites – sharpness against luscious richness, creaminess versus crumble, vivid blue marbling laced across pale ivory paste. Where a cheese falls along those various spectra very much helps define its personality and provenance. With literally thousands of variations, there are other key factors, like milk source, technique, and region that can also leave their flavor marks. But few land so squarely in a happy middle place (and at a reasonable price) as Buttermilk Blue. It has such a nice blend of character and approachability it’s no wonder this cheese from Wisconsin’s Roth Cheese is referred to as the company’s “gateway blue.” The raw milk of Jersey and Holstein cows (though, perhaps confusingly, not buttermilk) is transformed over two-plus months of aging into foil-wrapped wheels that deliver a bright tang I associate with classic American blues like Maytag and Point Reyes. But there’s also an extra-unctuous creaminess that rises up to hold it in check, with well-defined pockets of blue-gray mold whose tiny crystals delicately crunch against the unctuous paste.
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