Guest guest Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 November 13, 2005 The Main Ingredient Feeling blue? From the caves of Iowa, Maytag's cheese is among the best blues http://wvgazette.com/section/Food/2005111024?pt=0 By J. Byers and Tara Tuckwiller Staff writers IN our ad-driven culture, the word Maytag means one thing to us: appliances ... and that bored repairman. But if we can manage to expel from our brains a few advertising mantras learned in childhood (perhaps: " My baloney has a first name ... " or " fine Corinthian leather " ), maybe we also can make room to associate Maytag with cheese. Blue cheese. Really good blue cheese. (Notice we did not say " it's the cheesiest. " ) The Maytag cheese people and the Maytag washer people are one and the same. It seems that, as a sideline, the family also raised Holstein cattle on their Iowa farm. Then, in 1941, Fred Maytag II began using a process developed at Iowa State University to make blue cheese. Using milk from Iowa dairy farmers, the Maytags age their cheese in specially designed caves, where it takes on its familiar blue-green marbling and creamy flavor. - advertisement - Over the past few decades, Maytag Blue has pushed to the forefront of gourmet blue cheeses. Nationally known chefs call for it specifically in their recipes. It is mentioned in the same breath with England's Stilton or France's Roquefort cheeses. Blue cheese gets its distinctive flavor from aging and from mold — the kind of mold that grows on stale bread; penicillium mold, to be exact. It is thought that blue cheese was discovered when a sheepherder left a lunch of cheese curd and bread sitting in a cave for too long. The bread mold started the blue cheese reaction, or perhaps penicillium mold naturally present in the cave did the work. Nowadays, blue cheeses are still often aged in caves (some man- made), but the mold is carefully introduced, either by mixing it with the loose curd or by injecting it with thin needles, which also lets in air and hastens the molding process. The tangy, sharp taste of blue cheese is an acquired taste, but if blue cheese dressing, blue cheese-topped filet mignon and blue cheese soufflés are any measure, it's a taste that has been acquired in the United States. The testers from Cook's Illustrated did an experiment a few years ago to find the best blue cheese for homemade blue cheese dressing. They found that Stella Blue from Wisconsin worked best because its simple flavor did not overwhelm the dressing. On the other hand, because of the minimal flavor, Stella didn't rank high as a table cheese. They listed Maytag as third in the dressing category, but noted that it ranked very high with their tasters. However, Maytag costs more than double that of Stella and other lower-end blues (the Cheese Shop in Capitol Market charges $17.99 a pound for Maytag). Fortunately, because of its bold flavor, a little goes a long way. To contact staff writers J. Byers or Tara Tuckwiller, use e- mail or call 348-1236 or 348-5189. Compared to penicillin antibiotics, blue cheeses have only a trace amount of penicillium mold. 1/2 cup crumbled Maytag Blue Cheese 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup whole buttermilk Pinch kosher salt Combine all ingredients. Makes 3/4 cup. Nutrition information (2 tablespoons): 65 calories, 48 calories from fat, 5 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 13 milligrams cholesterol, 197 milligrams sodium, 1 gram carbohydrates, zero grams fiber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Thank You. Elvira [] The Main Ingredient November 13, 2005 The Main Ingredient Feeling blue? From the caves of Iowa, Maytag's cheese is among the best blues http://wvgazette.com/section/Food/2005111024?pt=0 By J. Byers and Tara Tuckwiller Staff writers IN our ad-driven culture, the word Maytag means one thing to us: appliances ... and that bored repairman. But if we can manage to expel from our brains a few advertising mantras learned in childhood (perhaps: " My baloney has a first name ... " or " fine Corinthian leather " ), maybe we also can make room to associate Maytag with cheese. Blue cheese. Really good blue cheese. (Notice we did not say " it's the cheesiest. " ) The Maytag cheese people and the Maytag washer people are one and the same. It seems that, as a sideline, the family also raised Holstein cattle on their Iowa farm. Then, in 1941, Fred Maytag II began using a process developed at Iowa State University to make blue cheese. Using milk from Iowa dairy farmers, the Maytags age their cheese in specially designed caves, where it takes on its familiar blue-green marbling and creamy flavor. - advertisement - Over the past few decades, Maytag Blue has pushed to the forefront of gourmet blue cheeses. Nationally known chefs call for it specifically in their recipes. It is mentioned in the same breath with England's Stilton or France's Roquefort cheeses. Blue cheese gets its distinctive flavor from aging and from mold - the kind of mold that grows on stale bread; penicillium mold, to be exact. It is thought that blue cheese was discovered when a sheepherder left a lunch of cheese curd and bread sitting in a cave for too long. The bread mold started the blue cheese reaction, or perhaps penicillium mold naturally present in the cave did the work. Nowadays, blue cheeses are still often aged in caves (some man- made), but the mold is carefully introduced, either by mixing it with the loose curd or by injecting it with thin needles, which also lets in air and hastens the molding process. The tangy, sharp taste of blue cheese is an acquired taste, but if blue cheese dressing, blue cheese-topped filet mignon and blue cheese soufflés are any measure, it's a taste that has been acquired in the United States. The testers from Cook's Illustrated did an experiment a few years ago to find the best blue cheese for homemade blue cheese dressing. They found that Stella Blue from Wisconsin worked best because its simple flavor did not overwhelm the dressing. On the other hand, because of the minimal flavor, Stella didn't rank high as a table cheese. They listed Maytag as third in the dressing category, but noted that it ranked very high with their tasters. However, Maytag costs more than double that of Stella and other lower-end blues (the Cheese Shop in Capitol Market charges $17.99 a pound for Maytag). Fortunately, because of its bold flavor, a little goes a long way. To contact staff writers J. Byers or Tara Tuckwiller, use e- mail or call 348-1236 or 348-5189. Compared to penicillin antibiotics, blue cheeses have only a trace amount of penicillium mold. 1/2 cup crumbled Maytag Blue Cheese 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup whole buttermilk Pinch kosher salt Combine all ingredients. Makes 3/4 cup. Nutrition information (2 tablespoons): 65 calories, 48 calories from fat, 5 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 13 milligrams cholesterol, 197 milligrams sodium, 1 gram carbohydrates, zero grams fiber. FAIR USE NOTICE: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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