WHAT IS BLEU D’AUVERGNE?
Bleu d’Auvergne is a pasteurized or raw cow’s milk blue cheese. Unlike many other blues it has a close to non-existent rind. The flesh is a pale white to yellow paste with cyan veining. These days though you tend to see this cheese a lot more in foodservice. Usually restaurants choose it as a cheaper version of Roquefort. Fitting since Antoine Roussel first invented it as a Roquefort knock-off in the 1800s. He substituted sheep’s milk with cheaper cow’s milk. But Monsieur Roussel used the same “toss a moldy bread into the cave” method of introducing mold spores into the cheese. Animal rennet is used so this cheese is not suitable for lacto-vegetarians.
WHERE IS BLEU D’AUVERGNE MADE?
Today this traditional cheese is made in several regions of France’s Massif Central (which totally sounds like a French porn name). Another very similar cheese from this region is Fourme d’Ambert. The chief difference between them is that Bleu d’Auvergne has a slightly stronger and coarser flavor.
YOU CAN EVEN USE BLEU D’AUVERGNE IN KOREAN DISHES?
Famous Seattle Chef Rachel Yang in her book My Rice Bowl makes an upside down mochi cake with blue cheese and mission figs. Words like homey and comforting aren’t often found in the same cookbooks as kimchi and blue cheese. But this chef makes it work!
WHAT CAN I PAIR WITH BLEU D’AUVERGNE?
Chef Yang may have started a trend. Apparently kimchi and bleu grilled cheese sandwiches are even on the menu in Korea. Or you could just go with a classic French cheese plate pairing of a nice Brie de Meaux and perhaps a slice of Cantal? Sweet white wines, ports or sherry can pair with the blue quite well. This ingredient is also popular in salads, but beware when pairing there as the dressing used has more of an impact on the flavor you pair with then just the cheese alone!
