Cheese of the Month June: Blossom’s Blue

A little bit of blue cheese goes a long way. That’s the literal truth about Blossom’s Blue, an exceptional blue cheese made by Moonstruck Organic Cheese on Salt Spring Island.

“It has a really long flavour,” notes Julia Grace, Moonstruck’s co-founder and cheese maker. “If you hold it on your mouth for a long time you’ll be able to taste its many layers.”

This raw, organic cheese is made from the incredibly rich and surprisingly sweet milk of Jersey cows. Jonah Benton of Vancouver’s Benton Brothers Fine Cheese says that Moonstruck is one of the few British Columbia cheese makers that uses pure Jersey milk in its product. The result is incomparable and exceptionally well-balanced.

“It’s nice and salty with sharp and spicy notes typical of blue cheese but it has an inherent sweetness,” he said.

Named after a dairy cow of exceptional character, Blossom’s greatness goes far beyond its flavour, which can be likened to the English Colston Basset Stilton. “Our cheeses are known for flavour and really superb texture that comes from gentle handling,” Grace said.

It’s buttery enough to add to silky cream sauces and crumbles beautifully in a blue cheese salad or on top of a grilled steak. It’s also versatile enough to use in unexpected sweet applications. Grace uses Blossom’s in a cheesecake served with homemade blackberry sauce.

Blossom’s pairs well with sweet dessert wines like Vista D’oro’s D’oro, a fortified walnut wine that is a favourite of Benton’s, as well as with big, bold red wines and hefty stouts. Dried fruits like figs and apricots further highlight the cheese’s sweet notes.

Benton said Blossom’s is their top selling B.C. blue cheese for a plethora of reasons.

“It’s got all those amazing key words going for it like local, organic and raw, but the biggest thing is that it is really good,” Benton said.

Blossom’s Blue first gained local popularity when Moonstruck began making it 15 years ago. Uninspired by the selection of bitter, quick-industry blue cheeses available at the time, Grace decided to create a product she felt was lacking in the region. Since then, foodies and chefs alike have been grateful for this outstanding local blue beauty.