Blue Cheese (Litehouse)
- Producer
- Litehouse Foods
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Idaho
- Size
- 4 in diameter x 7.5 in height
- Weight
- 7 lbs
- Website
- www.litehousefoods.com
- Milk
- Cow
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Semi Soft
- Rennet
- Microbial
- Rind
- Rindless
- Style
- Blue
Litehouse has been specializing in salad dressings since the Hawkins family began selling their homemade versions out of the family’s restaurant in Hope, Idaho over 50 years ago. The company grew due to its largely successful Chunky Blue Cheese dressing, and in 2002 when its blue cheese manufacturer went out of business, Litehouse hired its own cheesemaker and built its own cheese plant. In 2006 the family sold the company to its employees. Milk is sourced from partners at Country Morning Farms in Warden, Washington. Single source milk is vital to the quality and taste of the cheese, maintaining a consistency in fat content.
Blue wheels are produced using pasteurized cow’s milk and pierced with rods to allow the mold spores more air, increasing the blue veins. The cheese is aged for at least 100 days to bring out its full flavor, then a center piece (3.5-inches diameter and 1-inch height) is cut out and packaged for sale.
Tasting Notes
Creamier than its crumbly counterpart, this cheese is like a moldy cloud; it’s soft, pillowy and light, almost like nothing, but we know there’s some funk happening somewhere. Slightly sour and bitter, it yields a more mild finish.
Pairings
This blue cheese goes best with a Zinfandel, a Riesling or a Port. For beer pairings, try it with a stout.
