Not your standard blue
Celtic Blue is a mild blue cheese made by Glengarry Fine Cheese in Ontario.
In the early 1990’s, Margaret Peters-Morris established this small dairy on her family farm. Situated on the shores of the St Lawrence River, their land provides quality hay, grass and grains for their herd of Holstein cows.
Across the road from the pastures, she built the small cheesemaking facility where the milk is delivered daily.
A Dutch heritage
Since Margaret is of Dutch heritage, she chose to make Gouda-style cheeses. Inspired by her family’s love of all cheeses, she soon expanded their range to include soft and blue cheeses.
Effectively, Celtic Blue was one such addition. Once the cheesemaker has pasteurised the day’s milk, they add in cultures and rennet to form the curd. Afterwards, they move the formed cheese into their purpose-built European designed maturation rooms. Overall, the wheels of blue cheese will spend up to 3 months in this facility.
At this age, the cheese develops a gorgeous limestone coloured rind around its delicate cream pâte. Moreover, the occasional greenish-blue vein adorns the otherwise pristine pâte. On the palate, this cheese is buttery and mildly savoury and blue. Because of this, it is a great gateway blue cheese for the uninitiated.
How to pair Celtic Blue
Enjoy this spectacular Canadian blue with a tart pear and some honeycomb dipped in dark chocolate. Wash it all down with a crisp Cider.
