# Humbolt Fog Bleu Cheese **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603 "2017-08-24T23:08:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/1 "2017-08-24T23:08:53Z")
Man! I had forgotten how rich, salty and creamy this stuff is! I bought half a small wheel from Kroger today that had the “Woohoo…Great Deal!” (going out of date) sticker on it for $5 and it’s incredible. My sons and I ate a portion of it out of hand, and then I added the rinds and the crumbles to the spaghetti sauce I am making for Rigatoni (sewer pipes) and meatballs we’re having tonight. It altered the gussied up store bought sauce to a completely other level, and I had already added fresh basil, garlic, onion powder, a dash of Louisiana Hot Sauce and ground pepper. This sauce is the best from store bought alteration I have ever tasted. That’s some good ass cheese! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/2 "2017-08-24T23:18:37Z")
Oh, yeah. Cowgirl Creamery makes some _killer_ fromage. I personally favor the Mt. Tam and the Red Hawk. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/3 "2017-08-24T23:30:03Z")
The Miller Cheese lady told me that they have to tack on a 7-day expiration date once they cut a (small, perhaps 4-5" diameter) wheel for someone and repackage it. Today was that day and I saved a couple bucks and it was totally fine. I know when cheese is bad, it generally takes on that ammonia-ish smell. This was perfect. FTR, I generally avoid the “Woo-Hoo!” (I like saying and typing that more than I should) items like the plague but I know enough about cheese that her staff having to cut a wheel in half and repackage it meant bupkiss to it’s quality…those are corporate Kroger guidelines. They would have pitched a perfectly good cheese portion just…because. The items I would NOT buy with that sticker are typically seafood, bread and meat, and also vegetables unless I inspect them first. I got some great mushrooms recently that had been tagged thus and were perfectly fine. But back to the cheese! Tell me more about these other kinds this company makes! I could Google it of course, but fine foods and wine are my wheelhouse and I so much prefer discourse to internet for these types of things. But damn, that’s some good bleu. And so very, very different from Stilton and cave aged bleus I’ve had before. Much less sharp and way more texturally pleasing. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/4 "2017-08-24T23:56:30Z")
The Mt. Tam is a triple-cream that just works perfectly with crackers and wine. Nothing too stand-outy, just creamy goodness and richness. For something that will get your attention fast, try the Red Hawk. Nicely pungent. Wild bacteria, so there is a “otherness” to it, like a wild fermented Belgian trippel. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/5 "2017-08-25T00:03:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The Mt. Tam is a triple-cream that just works perfectly with crackers and wine. Nothing too stand-outy, just creamy goodness and richness. For something that will get your attention fast, try the Red Hawk. Nicely pungent. Wild bacteria, so there is a “otherness” to it, like a wild fermented Belgian trippel. I thought that one of the reasons European cheese was so superior to domestic ones was the difference in the bacteria allowed to fester in the finished product as it aged. I was under the assumption that domestic cheeses had to adhere to a standard that imported cheese didn’t and therefore affected the flavor. Is this still true or have those laws been relaxed for artisanal domestic producers? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/6 "2017-08-25T00:10:21Z")
Looking it up, Cowgirl Creamery doesn’t actually make Humbolt Fog. It’s made by another company called Cypress Grove Creamery. I guess Cowgirl distributes for them? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/7 "2017-08-25T00:13:46Z")
Could be. They are all in the same case at the local grocery and I just grab whatever looks interesting. The one cheese I remember from Cypress Grove distinctly is Purple Haze. Not often you find a lavender cheese. Weird, but delicious. Now I’m going to have to go shopping this weekend! ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/8 "2017-08-25T02:16:03Z")
When our local Giant Eagle (which has a dedicated cheese person in a raised area with everything needed to cut and package cheeses) gets towards the end of a wheel, they cut the remainder into small servings and wrap them with new labels. This way you get to try expensive cheeses for only a few dollars a package. You never know what is going to be in the basket. Today I got a Stilton and a Rothkrase Buttermilk Blue. I’m too full from dinner - Newman’s Own Sockarooni sauce with a few additions and finished using the wedge of Parmasiano-Reggiano I also bought. I might have to wait until tomorrow. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/9 "2017-08-25T02:35:22Z")
Is a “Giant Eagle” now the equivalent of a “Marketplace Kroger”? I grew up in northern Virginia where Giant’s and Safeways were all we had. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/10 "2017-08-25T03:06:12Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I bought half a small wheel from Kroger today that had the “Woohoo…Great Deal!” (going out of date) sticker on it for $5 and it’s incredible. The “Woohoo…Great Deal!” bin at my Kroger is where I do the bulk of my shopping. Once, they had King Crab legs in a freezer, but the stickers all fell off. I grabbed one off the bottom of the cooler, and stuck it back on the bag. Turned out, I paid $3.99 for a pound of crab because the sticker I grabbed was for some trash fish. You win some, you lose some. But I love me some good Bleu Cheese! ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/11 "2017-08-25T03:20:36Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Is a “Giant Eagle” now the equivalent of a “Marketplace Kroger”? I grew up in northern Virginia where Giant’s and Safeways were all we had. Giant Eagle is the huge supermarket chain that has pretty much taken over in Northern Ohio. A nice place to shop, and the Super Walmart prices keep G E from charging too much. In house bakery with great bread, claim to have 400 cheeses on the website. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/12 "2017-08-25T03:27:38Z")
We have Rogue Creamery here in Oregon. They make [Oregonzola](http://www.roguecreamery.com/store/product/1389/Oregonzola-Wheel/), which is a killer bleu. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/13 "2017-08-25T10:45:19Z")
I didn’t think Humboelt Fog was a blue- I thought it was an ash line? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/14 "2017-08-25T13:51:36Z")
Humbolt, huh? Are you sure the fog is coming from the cheese? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/15 "2017-08-25T14:12:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Humbolt, huh? Are you sure the fog is coming from the cheese? 😃 I’m sure they’re referring to the atmospheric phenomenon… right? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/16 "2017-08-25T14:27:35Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I didn’t think Humboelt Fog was a blue- I thought it was an ash line? It’s not. It’s a fresh goat cheese. From their [website](http://www.cypressgrovecheese.com/resources/faqs.html#41): > [@](#): > > **Is Humboldt Fog a blue cheese?** > > No, the blue line through the center of the cheese and around the outside under the rind is an odorless, tasteless, and completely edible vegetable ash. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/17 "2017-08-25T14:36:23Z")
Yeah, didn’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/18 "2017-08-25T15:55:43Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > That’s some good ass cheese! This is one of those sentences where a hyphen would really help. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/19 "2017-08-25T15:59:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is one of those sentences where a hyphen would really help. Yep. That is some good ass-cheese. Is that what you meant? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603/20 "2017-08-25T16:51:55Z")
If you haven’t tried it you really should sample some Mt. Tam and Redhawk. They really are superlative examples of the cheese-makers art. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humbolt-fog-bleu-cheese/794603.md?page=2)