# What is bleu cheese supposed to taste like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498 "2006-02-21T17:54:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/41 "2006-02-22T04:19:12Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Mmm, that’s how I love my Stilton, although also with pears and gingersnaps. The gingersnaps-and-blue-cheese thing was a hard sell for my boyfriend, but once he tried it he was absolutely hooked. I’ve heard that pears went well with Stilton but haven’t gotten around to trying them yet. And I can see where gingersnaps and blue cheese (note the spelling, **GorillaMan**? 😉 ) would be quite tasty. You’ve motivated me to get off my duff and give 'em a try. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/42 "2006-02-22T04:21:54Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Are any of the burgers at Ruby Tuesday’s any good? I hadn’t eaten at any restaurants of that chain for years, and my distant memories were that the food there was mediocre. A couple of months ago, having seen their TV advertisements about their burgers (which seem to run endlessly), I decided to just once go there to check out their hamburgers. I picked some burger from the menu that looked interesting. It was pretty terrible. The meat was bad, the bun was bad, and the toppings were bad. I suspect that going to Ruby Tuesday’s for your first experience of anything is a bad idea. Uh, yeah, the burgers there are, um, good. Just remember to get CHEESE on it! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/43 "2006-02-22T06:11:32Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Okay, first disclaimer: I was raised in a family that didn’t “do” cheese. We had American \ I’m not sure why, but calling processed cheese slices American Cheese really bugs me for some reason. I hate it when restaurants do this even more - “Topped with American cheese!” You mean you cheaped out and slapped the crappiest “cheese” money can buy on it. I don’t think it should even be called cheese - it should always be called “cheese,” to indicate that it is not actually cheese and the two shouldn’t be confused. Okay, I’m done. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/44 "2006-02-22T11:03:25Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Ooh, or a nice bit of Stilton with a crisp Cox’s Pippin Great, now I want a ploughman’s, you bastard 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/45 "2006-02-22T13:20:29Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > Would you agree that bleu cheese generally has a “piquant” taste? Things I call “piquant” usually have a little more acidity to them than blue cheese. And, things I call pungent usually smell worse than blue cheese. And, by “worse”, I mean “better”. But, I don’t think that it’s off-base to call blue cheese piquant or pungent. Maybe because blue cheese dressing is so familiar, I don’t associate bleu cheese odor with the rankness of a real camembert, tallegio, or St. Albray type cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/46 "2006-02-22T15:14:32Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Mmm, that’s how I love my Stilton, although also with pears and gingersnaps. Wow. I knew about pears (although I’ve used Gorgonzola instead of Stilton), but never thought about ginger snaps. Any brand in particular? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/47 "2006-02-22T15:54:57Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Things I call “piquant” usually have a little more acidity to them than blue cheese. > > And, things I call pungent usually smell worse than blue cheese. And, by “worse”, I mean “better”. > > But, I don’t think that it’s off-base to call blue cheese piquant or pungent. > > Maybe because blue cheese dressing is so familiar, I don’t associate bleu cheese odor with the rankness of a real camembert, tallegio, or St. Albray type cheese. Yeah, different species of bacteria–along with other variables of course–make different types of cheese. Me, I love some stinky cheese. Limberger, and its little-known American cousin, Mapleton cheese, from Mapleton Wisconsin, are a couple of my favorites. Mmmm. Stinky cheese. ---
**Author:** ![johnsonlnl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@johnsonlnl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnsonlnl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/48 "2006-02-22T16:01:04Z")
OK…I have to ask…I’ve become a HUGE port fan in the last year or so…I’ve read in several places about the magical connection between port and Stilton. So, I tried it. I did not find it to be a pleasant experience. I need to find out if this was due to the quality of cheese purchased (plastic wrapped in a midwest USA supermarket) or just a mismatch of Stilton and my taste buds. The best description I can give of the Stilton I had on that fateful day is “cheese that smells and tastes like wet straw, or a combination of wet straw and hog manure” Is this Stilton in general, the Stilton I bought locally, or me? Thanks guys! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/49 "2006-02-22T16:20:03Z")
> [@Plynck](#): > > Wow. I knew about pears (although I’ve used Gorgonzola instead of Stilton), but never thought about ginger snaps. Any brand in particular? Well, I make my own, but optimally you want softer ones because it’s easier to scoop some crumbles of cheese on them and not have them fall off when you bite it. 🙂 **johnsonlnl** , on port and Stilton, I only like it with tawny port. What kind of port did you have with it? Stilton doesn’t smell like wet straw to me, it smells like a healthy blue cheese (but not a super-strong one.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/50 "2006-02-22T16:22:42Z")
> [@johnsonlnl](#): > > OK…I have to ask…I’ve become a HUGE port fan in the last year or so…I’ve read in several places about the magical connection between port and Stilton. So, I tried it. I did not find it to be a pleasant experience. I need to find out if this was due to the quality of cheese purchased (plastic wrapped in a midwest USA supermarket) or just a mismatch of Stilton and my taste buds. > > The best description I can give of the Stilton I had on that fateful day is “cheese that smells and tastes like wet straw, or a combination of wet straw and hog manure” > > Is this Stilton in general, the Stilton I bought locally, or me? Do you like blue cheese in general? I find Stilton to be pleasantly creamy and not quite as acidic as blues such as Rocquefort. While it’s certainly not what I would call a mild blue, it’s not a very rough blue, either. It may just be that blue cheese isn’t your bag. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/51 "2006-02-22T16:27:10Z")
[Blue cheese vs. bleu cheese](http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=%22blue+cheese%22&word2=%22bleu+cheese%22) ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/52 "2006-02-22T17:04:36Z")
Mr. brown is a big fan of creamy blue cheese dressing, so I invented a recipe which goes well on a cold wedge of iceberg. This seems like an appropriate place to post it. 1/2 cup whole fat yogurt 1/2 cup good mayo 2 tablespoons of buttermilk Chunk of roquefort about the size of big egg, crumbled tiny pinch of garlic or onion powder tiny pinch of cayenne Reserve 1/3 of the blue cheese crumbles. Mix everything else well, mashing the 2/3 amount of the blue cheese into the mixture. Then add the reserved crumbles, but don’t mash them in; leave them in little chunks. If you like a thinner dressing, thin it with a dribble of water. Taste, and if you want, add a bit of salt. Of course, if you want it more intensely cheesey, by all means add more roquefort. You’ll never buy Kraft again. ---
**Author:** ![johnsonlnl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@johnsonlnl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnsonlnl)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/53 "2006-02-22T17:30:38Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Do you like blue cheese in general? I find Stilton to be pleasantly creamy and not quite as acidic as blues such as Rocquefort. While it’s certainly not what I would call a mild blue, it’s not a very rough blue, either. It may just be that blue cheese isn’t your bag. That’s what I’m trying to figure out…I enjoy pretty much every type of food and flavor I’ve every tried…including a variety of cheeses I’ve had the opportunity to sample on various occasions. I’ve never found anything that I couldn’t find a reason to eat and enjoy. However, I don’t think I had much - if any - exposure to blue cheeses before this occasion. I’m hoping I just bought a bad piece of Stilton, and that I just need to find a better source…it’d be a shame if the one type of flavor I can’t stand is one of the all time classic pairings for port! For the record, I think I was drinking an inexpensive tawny that day. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/54 "2006-02-22T17:43:18Z")
> [@johnsonlnl](#): > > That’s what I’m trying to figure out…I enjoy pretty much every type of food and flavor I’ve every tried…including a variety of cheeses I’ve had the opportunity to sample on various occasions. I’ve never found anything that I couldn’t find a reason to eat and enjoy. However, I don’t think I had much - if any - exposure to blue cheeses before this occasion. > > I’m hoping I just bought a bad piece of Stilton, and that I just need to find a better source…it’d be a shame if the one type of flavor I can’t stand is one of the all time classic pairings for port! > > For the record, I think I was drinking an inexpensive tawny that day. Well, for many it is an aquired taste. Buy a couple of other brands and see what you think. I enjoy Stilton accompanied simply by some crusty bread or crackers. I also find pears and apples to complement the cheese very will. Something with sweetness balances the acidity and richness nicely. Port is the classic pairing, but I rarely have port around, so I just wash it does with a glass of water. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/55 "2006-02-22T18:20:14Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I’m not sure why, but calling processed cheese slices American Cheese really bugs me for some reason. I think it’s cool when they call them “cheese food”. “Cheez” would do, too. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/56 "2006-02-22T18:52:46Z")
I remember hearing once that some people lack a particular gene and can’t detect that cyanide smells like bitter almonds. I wonder if the same applies to blue cheese? I have a friend that says that \*any \* blue cheese tastes like soap to her; I know a number of people who can’t tolerate blue cheese. It wouldn’t surprise me if I were to hear that a certain part of the population will never find it palatable. **teela** , that dressing sounds wonderful. And lo-cal, too! 😃 How long will it keep? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/57 "2006-02-22T19:23:06Z")
> [@Plynck](#): > > **teela** , that dressing sounds wonderful. And lo-cal, too! 😃 How long will it keep? That’s a bit like the old commercial which asks how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie-pop. ::counting:: One, two, three (snarf) . . . about three hours. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/58 "2006-02-24T15:41:13Z")
Carnac the Magnificent! writes: \> Uh, yeah, the burgers there are, um, good. Just remember to get CHEESE on it! I have no idea what point you’re making with this post. Can you say anything without having to be ironic about it? Are they good or not? Have you noticed that the motto of the SDMB is “Fighting ignorance”, not “Making snide comments that convey no actual information”? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/59 "2006-02-24T15:53:43Z")
Damn, **ww** , who pissed on your blue cheese? The Dope is also about joke and snarky commentary. Take a 'lude. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498/60 "2006-02-24T16:11:31Z")
Carnac the Magnificent! was the snarky one, not me. That post of his was not a friendly joke. It was making fun of someone’s comment without actually answering the question in it. I still want to know what he meant by his comment. Are the burgers at Ruby Tuesday’s generally good or not? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-bleu-cheese-supposed-to-taste-like/345498.md?page=4)