1924 Bleu

Herve Mons has stepped back into the limelight as the affineur of the stellar 1924 Bleu, a blue cheese that's made with equal parts sheep and cow milk, but the true hero here is Francois Kerautret, the cheese marketer who created this charming treasure. He transitioned into a cheesemaker when he had the idea to take Roquefort back to its roots before it received the first ever appellation d'origine of any cheese in 1925 that required cheesemakers to use only sheep's milk and to make and age Roquefort using specific guidelines. Kerautret wanted to go back to using a mixture of milk instead of purely sheep's milk for his version of blue cheese. After a few years of urging, Kerautret persuaded Mons to work with him on a prototype, and, not long after, 1924 Bleu was born. If Roquefort is the bold king and Bleu D'Auvergne is the calmer prince, then 1924 Bleu is the beautiful and lively duchess in the royal blue cheese family.

1924 Bleu is rich and creamy.

There are a lot of blue-green veins in this cheese.

Aged in Herve Mons' caves near Roanne, almost 400 miles from Roquefort, 1924 Bleu develops a natural rind that has a nice aroma of the country. The aging process continues when the wheels are sent to the United States, and they end up being about four or five months old once the consumer digs into the wonderful, extra creamy interior. The rind adds to the overall woody, earthy, mushrooomy flavor, but the first thing you will notice is a quick burst of salt and a spicy tang that evens out quickly. Notes of straw and a sweet, nutty taste that pairs well with the traditional mold of blue cheeses follow. The longer the cheese ages, the more hints of ammonia emerge, but even when this little blue is past its prime, it's still tasty. But, oh, that rich creaminess! That's what will stick with you. I do suggest that you eat this while it's younger, but if you're not afraid to take a walk on the wild side, go ahead and let it age.

As I often suggest, a nice crusty French bread goes well with 1924 Bleu. Try it with some wildflower honey or on a spinach salad. You can use it in a stuffed chicken or in stuffed mushroom caps, and it also adds flavor to any cheese dip recipe.

I served this blue with Two Rivers Vintner's Blend, but it's an elegant cheese that will pair well with many wines including Arneis, Muscat, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gamay, Zinfandel, Chenin Blanc, Sauternes or even a sherry or, for you beer fans, a porter or stout.

Two Rivers Vintner's Blend pairs well with this cheese.

Funkmeister

                                                  


Didn't I recently say I was looking for a cheese with some funk? Well, I found it. Hold on to your extra tall and slightly outlandish Godfather hats. This is Funkmeister, a cheese named for that stinky, pungent odor that comes from a good washed-rind cheese. It's exciting and cool and slightly out there and maybe just a little bit dirty, but man, like those bad boys that are oh so good, you will want to keep coming back to this one.

Haystack Mountain in Longmont, Colorado is known for its goat milk cheeses, but they carry an excellent selection of cow milk cheeses as well. The company has been creating award-winning products since 1989. Jackie Chang is the lead cheesemaker at Haystack Mountain. She grew up in Taiwan and Korea and moved to Boulder in the late 80s. Her cheeses are designed to be flavorful but not overpowering. Such is the case with Funkmeister.

Funkmeister is a double cream, washed-rind cheese, washed in a cultured brine. This process encourages bacteria to spread and grow on the surface of the rind, enhancing the aroma, flavor and aging of the cheese. The cow's milk and cream used are organic. A vegetable rennet is used in the cheese-making process, so vegetarians can dig in without worry.

Inside the ochre rind that's ever so slightly sandy is a rich ivory paste. To say it's creamy is an understatement. The inner texture is divine and practically melts on your tongue. The complex flavor is equally magnificent. It consists primarily of a cream taste with strong notes of raw hazelnuts and softer undertones of straw, mushrooms and earth with a gentle but noticeable tang that goes right to your nose, not unlike the little zing associated with yogurt. This cheese is spicy and sharp without being obnoxious. There's a good dose of salt that hits your palate after the initial flavor has subsided and a very, very slight bitterness at the finish that's not at all unpleasant. The flavors intensify as the cheese ages. Oddly, despite the very obvious pungent and spicy flavor, my overall impression is that this is a delicate, fruity cheese. Sure, it's showy and outrageous on the surface and maybe a little bit offensive to the nose, but there's a refinement about Funkmeister that puts it up close in ranking to cheeses such as Epoisse and Pont l'Eveque.

Funkmeister has an interesting looking rind.

Saving room for some crusty bread on this plate.

The best way to serve this cheese is at room temperature straight up on some crusty French bread. It's a great cheese to put on sandwiches, too. Serve it on a cheese board with sliced tart apples, grapes, celery sticks and dried meats. Try Funkmeister in baked dishes as well. Heat softens and tames the flavor while allowing it to retain its depth. Any harsher notes disappear when it's cooked in pasta, eggs, or even when it's simply melted on toast. You can also serve it as suggested on the Haystack Mountain website, with savory preserves.

Funkmeister pairs well with Pinot Gris, Condrieu, Riesling, Gamay, Malbec, Blanc de Noir, Chenin Blanc or Jurancon. Haystack Mountain also suggests serving it with a floral, piney IPA.

Oh yes, we want the funk.

Try Funkmeister with a nice IPA.

Pave du Nord

Cap Gris Nez: The town of Calais is near Cap Gris Nez cape in the Pas-de-Calais region.

Calais is a town and ferry port in northern France. It has a long and variable history with ownership changing hands many times before finally ending up in the hands of the French. Due to its location, it's no surprise that it was once a territorial possession of England. It is said that on a clear day, one can even see Dover from Calais, and the nicely positioned plot of land served as a major trading center between the two countries. Today, the Chunnel Tunnel lands right near Calais on the French side. Long before Wold war II, Calais was also briefly in Spain's possession before being handed over to the French again. During the war, the little jewel of a city was nearly destroyed when German troops invaded and attempted to use the prime location to attack England.

Being so close to England, it makes sense that some of the more well-known cheeses in and around the area are reminiscent of cheddar cheese. Like the region it comes from, Pave du Nord is a complicated and hard to describe cheese. Pave du Nord gets its name, because the cheese is shaped like the classic French cobblestones, Pave. It seems to mimic the rugged land it hails from in terms of its appearance and texture. Keep in mind that cheeses made in the far northern regions of France are not made from milk coming from the Normandy cows that feast on lush grasses. It's a little colder and not as comfortable for dairy animals up north.

French cobblestones.

Pave du Nord may be France's answer to cheddar cheese, but it's not quite the same. The French version is milder, smoother, a tad more curious and much harder and drier than most cheddar cheeses. The cheese is hard to cut, so when I say hard, I don't just mean it's in the hard cheese category; it's also literally hard. It's startlingly orange, like normal cheddar went tanning in Jersey. That's due to the added annatto, a natural coloring derived from achiote seeds. I believe the annatto is what creates some of the very faint spicy, floral and savory notes in the cheese as well. 

Pave du Nord is bright orange.

The rind is super tough and probably best if it's not eaten, even though the flavor is earthy. Not to gross anyone out, but there are microscopic cheese mites that are intentionally introduced to the rind. These critters burrow into the rind and supposedly give it flavor. People use the rind in cooking, but it's not the best eating rind. If you do eat it, you might want to scrape off the outermost part, unless you are one of those adventurous eaters or are training for a spot on Fear Factor. Actually, since you can't actually see the mites, approaching the rind isn't too scary. Just don't think about it too deeply. 

If you are underwhelmed with the first bite, wait and let the flavors develop on your palette. It's not a shockingly flavorful cheese, but Pave du Nord has a nice milky taste with slight notes of raw hazelnuts. There's a slight sweetness to it. If you concentrate, you can detect a very light creamy caramel taste. Something about it suggests the slightest hint of something that resembles Parmesan too, but it's closer to cheddar than any Italian cheeses. This one isn't as zesty and doesn't crumble either. You could think of it as a wild country cheddar going off to finishing school and coming back more refined, sophisticated and tame.   

Pave du Nord cheese.

This is a pressed raw milk cheese, but it's not overly sharp or tangy. There's a tenderness about it, despite being on the rustic-looking side. People compare it to Mimolette, which is richer and more complex. Pave du Nord is more like a younger, less potent version of the Mimolette cheese. 

People say Pave du Nord is a good melting cheese, but it doesn't really melt all that well on its own. It's too hard for that. Unlike a true cheddar, this cheese isn't going to get all oooey gooey when it's faced with heat. Instead, it will end up in a contained, hard clump. It's like trying to melt an aged Manchego, about the furthest thing from melting Mozzarella. It's better shaved on salads, grated with other cheeses to enrich the flavors or served as a snacking cheese. It works well in dishes like mac and cheese or potatoes au gratin that have added milk or cream. If you serve it on crusty bread, consider adding a pat of butter to counter the dry and salty characteristics of this cheese.

Use Pave du Nord in your potatoes au gratin recipe.

Liquor Mart in Boulder has an outstanding selection of wines, beer, champagne and more.

Kevin Downs, Assistant wine manager at Liquor Mart in Boulder, Colorado, suggests the following pairings for this cheese:

If one is going to properly match this cheese with wine, it is probably best to not eat the rind as it is extremely difficult to find a wine that goes well with cheese mites.

Cheddar and cheddar like cheeses go very well with red wines. Well aged stronger versions go well with bigger tannic reds like a tannic mountain Cabernet or a Barolo, and a classic is Port with Stilton. However, this cheese is more subtle, so we need wines that are less overpowering.  More fruity, lighter Cabernets would work here, such as those from Chile, like Mont Gras or Casa Lapostolle, both around $12. One of my first choices would be a Cabernet Franc from the Loire (Coincidently not too far from Calais) such as Chais St Laurent Bourgueil ($12.99) or  Domaine Filliatreau Saumur ($15.99). Both of these are medium body with just the right amount of fruit and acidity to balance the mild nuttiness and earthiness of the cheese. The other great choice here would be a Langhe Nebbiolo. This beautiful medium bodied wine has wonderful red fruit and just the right amount of tannin to work perfectly and not overpower like their cousins Barolos or Barbarescos. Rivetto makes a good one at $17.99, and I love Eugenio Bocchino’s Roccabella at $20.99.

If you have to do white, do a crisp flavorful New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (Ana is my new favorite at $11.99), and bubbles work too. Whatever wine you choose, enjoy this wonderful cheese from the north of France. Cheers!

Eugenio Bocchino Roccabella pairs well with Pave du Nord.