Danish Blue (also known as Danablu) is a strong, blue-veined cheese. This semi-soft creamery cheese is typically drum or block shaped and has a white to yellowish, slightly moist, edible rind. Made from cow's milk, it has a fat content of 25–30% (50–60% in dry matter) and is aged for eight to twelve weeks.
Before ageing, copper wires or rods are used to pierce the formed curds to distribute the mould (Penicillium roqueforti) evenly through the cheese. The holes can still be seen when the finished wheel is cut open.
Danish Blue was invented early in the 20th century by a Danish cheese maker named Marius Boel with the intention of emulating a Roquefort style cheese. Danish Blue has a milder flavour characterised by a sharp, salty taste.
Danish Blue is often served crumbled on salads or as a dessert cheese with fruit. In Denmark, it is often served on bread or biscuits.
Danish Blue and Esrom are the only two Danish cheeses that are PGI-marked by the EU, meaning that they may only be produced in Denmark from Danish milk and at approved dairies that produce the cheeses according to the specifications laid down.
Famous quotes containing the word blue:
“Mozart has the classic purity of light and the blue ocean; Beethoven the romantic grandeur which belongs to the storms of air and sea, and while the soul of Mozart seems to dwell on the ethereal peaks of Olympus, that of Beethoven climbs shuddering the storm-beaten sides of a Sinai. Blessed be they both! Each represents a moment of the ideal life, each does us good. Our love is due to both.”
—Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)