Arrivederci Pellegrino. Ta Ta truffles. Bye Bye blue cheese.
The news that stratospheric tariffs will raise prices on a wide variety of imported foods later this month has hit the gourmand world hard.
According to a story in the Wall Street Journal this week, fans of Roquefort and Romano are caught in the crossfire of a raging trade dispute between the U.S. and the EU over an EU ban on imports of American beef treated with hormones.
You won’t let our tinkered-with cows in? says the U.S. Then we will slap a doozy of a duty rate on your stinkin’ cheese.
Though many gourmet items are destined to be affected – chocolates from France, lingonberry preserves from Sweden, Iberico ham from Spain – it’s the stinkin’ cheese from Roquefort sur Soulzon that stands to be hit hardest. Or rather, the fans of the stinkin’ cheesse from Roquefort sur Soulzon.
While most duty rates are scheduled to go up about 100 percent, the plan is to raise the duty rate on Roquefort 300 percent.
Dubbed the king of blues, Roquefort currently costs about $30 a pound. In the WSJ article, a spokesperson for Murray’s Cheese in New York City estimated that her shop would have to charge customers “about $60 a pound to maintain its margin.”
The article sounded a hopeful note.
“EU officials say they re negotiating a compromise with their U.S. Counterparts to avert the punitive duties.”
But, as I see it, the immediate solution to the dastardly duty hike is to develop a taste for other blue cheeses, in particular American-made blue cheeses.
Here are a few that have impressed me mightily. With them in my fridge I can just sit back and watch all the politicians on both sides of the pond act like silly kids on a playground.
ATALANTA CREAMY BLUE
I knew this one was a winner the minute I experienced its bold flavor and rich, creamy mouthfeel. What I didn’t know was that Atalanta was the Greek goddess of travel and adventure who refused to get married until she had “traveled the world and enjoyed a few adventures” (according to Igourmet.com where the cheese costs $4.99 per half pound). It’s a full-fat cow’s milk cheese with subtle veining and an elegant tang that pleases the palate instead of pounding it. It also comes in a Crumbly version.
CRATER LAKE BLUE
One of the many treasures coming from The Rogue Creamery in Oregon, this award-winning cheese is hand-made from unpasteurized cow’s milk, has an aggressive “blue” bite but a lovely buttery background to balance it. I love the romantic description that says its blue-green marbling is the same color as the water of Crater Lake. It costs about $13 per half pound.
SHAFT’S BLEU CHEESE
The package says Cedar Ridge, CA, but, in fact, this puckery, spreadable cheese gets its start with the
milk of Wisconsin cows. The cheese is then shipped to California where it’s aged in an old, abandoned gold mine in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that was transformed into an aging environment for this distinctive blue. In France, the guy who ages the cheese in a damp, dark cave gets a lot of the credit for the final product. Not so in the U.S. Or at least until now.
Aged for a year or more, Shaft's Bleu Vein Cheese has a robust flavor and an aroma that announces its presence several rooms away. I especially like it schmeared on a sliver of ripe pear. It costs about $14 a pound at Schaefers.com.
POINT REYES BLUE
Widely available, this isn’t a super luscious blue but it’s got great flavor and a pleasant crumbly texture that makes it an ideal choice for salads, canapés, potato salad, mashed potatoes and polenta, and compound butters.
Point Reyes Blue is made from the raw milk of Holstein cows that graze on organic, green pastured hills overlooking Tomales Bay north of San Francisco. A three-pound wheel costs $58 on the company’s Web site, which also offers a vast variety of gift-giving ideas.
GORGONZOZLA CREMIFICATO
Lumpy. Luscious. Scoopable.
That’s how this beauty is described on the Web site of Murray’s Cheese and I don’t think I can do any better.
Apparently this cheese has a higher water content than typical Gorgonzola, a fact that results in very discreet “pockmarks” of blueing rather than aggressive veining. The flavor is spicy, rich and totally irresistible. It costs $14 a pound; no word on how/if that price will change with the new tariffs.
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