Winter Fancy Food Show Booth #2469
says San Francisco cheesemonger Jon Fancey.
Made on a small scale from the milk of
the indigenous Payoya goats, Andazul is
the creation of a cheesemaker who used to
make Montealva. Unusually, she does not
pierce the wheels to create air channels for
the Penicillium to grow. Instead she aerates
the curds by hand before she transfers them
to molds, says importer Michele Buster of
Forever Cheese. The result is mellow and
plush, neither salty nor piquant—an excel-
lent choice for customers fearful of blues but
one that will also please the aficionado.
Bleu 1924 (France): An unusual mixed-
milk wheel from the Auvergne region—
Roquefort country—Bleu 1924 relies on
sheep's and cow's milk in roughly equal parts.
François Kerautret, a now-retired cheese
importer, dreamed up the idea and per-
suaded Hervé Mons, the respected French
affineur, to find a creamery to make it. "What
if Roquefort and Stilton had a baby?" is how
Kerautret described his vision for the cheese.
The creamery, a blue cheese specialist, ships
the young wheels to Mons' aging facility
and his team matures them for about three
months. The 6-pound wheels have a natural
rind and a creamy, spreadable interior with
aromas of toasted walnut and malted barley.
It is more buttery than pungent, more Stilton
than Roquefort. Steve Jones, the owner of
raw Jersey milk. That's rarified air already;
a blue cheese that checks all those boxes is
rarer still. Cheesemaker Joe Moreda, whose
mother started the cheesemaking venture on
the family's 100-year-old dairy farm, initially
envisioned making an American version of
Gorgonzola dolce, the luscious, spreadable
Italian blue. But three years of development
yielded a cheese that's closer to a robust
Stilton: dense and buttery with a scent that
hints at buttered toast, Saltine crackers, and
roasted nuts. Grazin' Girl is a four-pound
wheel with a natural rind and a mellow
personality.
Imported:
Andazul (Spain): Several retailers are fans
of this new goat's-milk blue from Andalusia.
"We can barely give blue cheese away at
Bi-Rite, but this is probably the tastiest
goat's-milk blue I've had over the years,"
Valley Ford Cheese Grazin' Girl
Andazul
PHOTOS: JANET FLETCHER/PLANET CHEESE
FALL 2019 37
cheese focus
