Ahhhh, Dragon’s Breath Blue.
Hmmm, step aside Stilton! Not bad eh, Gorgonzola?
A small black bell of blue cheese, slice of the top and inhale!
Delicate I say, a bit spicy: a real pleasant nose. Quite unlike some Bluenoses I know.
Now try some, straight up and chase it with some good bread, a fresh baguette would be perfect. Notice the flavour: subtle, no bitterness, nothing harsh. Slightly milky, it lingers pleasantly. Pass the wine! Some more?
What else can I say? I am biased. It is my baby, I played around a bit, experimented some and there it was: small blue bell of blue cheese! I thought it deserved a fierce name like dogs breath.
However my better half strongly disagreed, we polled some friends and since then it was referred to as Dragon’s Breath Blue. And its f(l)ame spread from coast to coast!
Truth be known: I did a little more than just playing around with it, it took us several years to fine-tune the process and it still is a tiny little bit like getting a cat in a bag. It’s texture ranges from firm pasty to soft-almost runny, but 95% are in the soft pasty (preferred) range.
How to eat it
Well, let me count the ways!
First cut off the top and scoop it out- yum!
I prefer it straight up, chased by real bread like a baguette or nice sourdough.
Our daughter loves it melted on pasta.
Serve in salad or with fresh fruit, especially on slices of pear.
Delicious with burgers, eggs or on a steak.
Often there briny liquid is at the bottom, mush it in or pour it out, but don’t waste it. Its delicious, mopped up with bread or added to a dish.
Often you see a layer of the cheese mold when you cut off the top, this is normal and still delicious. Other times the mold has stuck to the wax or one cuts a thicker top off and doesn’t see the mold layer., just the creaminess below.
This one had the delicious, briny liquid seeping around the sides.