Roth Kase Smoked Blue Cheese "Moody Blue"

My son Thomas and I went to the Earth Fare this past weekend. It was his first experience and I must say he thoroughly enjoyed himself. As soon as we walked out the door he started talking about our next trip. I'm so proud of him, too. The lady at the cheese counter was quite bubbly and excited to share her love of cheese with us. And Thomas actually tried some things I never thought he would. But... more on that later...

This blog is about a new bleu cheese find the cheese lady introduced to us. Roth Kase of Monroe, Wisconsin won a silver medal in this year's U.S. Championship Cheese Contest for it's class "Smoked Cheeses" getting a 99.15 out of a possible 100 score. (the gold medalist got a 99.30)

Of course, I only found this out when I got home and looked it up. The cheese lady noticed my interest in the blue cheeses and suggested I try this one. The aroma hooked me right at the start. For people who don't think they like blue cheese... take a whiff of this stuff. Even Thomas admitted that it smelled tasty. (not enough to make him overlook the MOLD - he wouldn't take a taste, but... maybe next time, right?) The aroma is smoky, woody, sort of sweet. It made my mouth water, actually.



The taste? Salty, creamy, tangy, woody, slightly sweetish... if you want to introduce blue cheese to someone who hasn't ever tried it before or thinks they don't like it, offer them this one. I'm over the moon about it. In fact, between Pete and me it's almost all gone already. The cheese is not too "ripe" if you know what I mean. There are a few streaks of blue with the majority of the cheese being a soft buttery cream color.

This cheese was $15.99 a pound but well worth the price. A must on any cheese tray. When I got home I served it to Pete with crackers and red grapes. He said that combo was out-standing! And I agree. I urge you all to grab a wedge of this one before Pete and I eat it all!