Our Cheese Sommelier Vanessa this week picks the perfect choice to beat away the winter blues or blahs, particularly when you’ve worked so hard clearing away that snow & ice over the past weeks. Your just deserved reward is Glengarry Fine Cheese’s newest blue cheese creation – Azzuro di Buffala.
Located North of Highway 401 near Cornwall, in Lancaster, Ontario, award winning cheesemaker Margaret Morris and team continue to pioneer, making delicious cheeses from the fresh milk of farmstead Holstein cows, local goat’s milk & now one of Ontario’s only herds of water buffalo. Not your average blue, with this one a little goes a long way. All you über connoisseurs of blue cheese take note!
I absolultely love this cheese and had the pleasure of tasting the first batch almost a year ago. I find its buffalo milk base like a blank canvas that truly allows the cheese shine. It’s full of classic characteristics of “blue” molds: piquant/sharp giving a nice bite that stays with you, salty but fully flavorful. The paste is soft, rounding out with age, and aqua/teal blue veining (unlike sister cheese Celtic which is more slate-toned). Nibbling on the thick rind is akin to a thin spread of peanut butter on lightly toasted bread lending mild nutty characteristics with a hint of yeast.
Cheese: Azzuro di Buffala
Producer: Glengarry Fine Cheese, Lancaster, Ontario
Want to learn more about artisan cheeses?
Join Vanessa for her Great Canadian Cheese Discovery events. On February 19 she will feature artisan cheeses of Quebec, while on March 19 she will feature artisan cheeses of British Columbia, Nova Scotia & PEI. Tickets are $55 per person & includes samples of 7 to 8 artisan cheeses plus Canadian wines to enjoy. More details about these events at savvycompany.ca/events