Sunday, January 8

bluuuuuur

Why is blue cheese often called "bleu" cheese in the US?

Stilton - from England
Gorgonzola - from Italy
Cambozola - from Germany
Danish Blue - from Denmark

There are some French blue cheeses that start "bleu de…" but France is not generally thought of as the home of blue cheese. So why give blue cheese a French name; bleu cheese dressing, bleu cheese steak, for example? My guess is people are confused with Le Cordon Bleu institute and the names of dishes created there like Chicken Cordon Bleu. No blue cheese in that dish! There are more cheeses produced in England than France.

The 1lb of Stilton, I ordered this year, is almost finished :-( It has been a wonderful indulgence and so much nicer than the dried out, plastic wrapped, hard triangular stuff I can buy locally.