Classic Blue Log

Producer

Westfield Farm

Country

United States

Region

Massachusetts

Size

5.5 inches long. 2 ins diameter

Weight

5-6 oz

Website

www.chevre.com

Milk

Goat

Treatment

Pasteurised

Classification

Blue
Soft

Rennet

Vegetable

Rind

Mold Ripened
Blue

This little log is a stellar example of a growing niche in the cheese industry: the externally-rinded blue.

Some say the style itself was invented at Westfield Farm in Massachusetts, originally owned by Bob and Lettie Kilmoyer. The self-taught cheesemaking couple had a penchant for experimentation, and decided to use Penicillium roqueforti—the mold that gives classic blues its inside veins—to colonize only the rind of their fresh chèvre. While initially confronted with skepticism, the style caught on, and was eventually granted its own American Cheese Society Judging & Competition category. Soon after, Westfield's externally-rinded blues began winning scads of awards.

Since 1996, Bob and Debby Stetson have run Westfield Farm, continuing production of its originals and expanding the cow's and goat's milk cheese repertoire.

Blue Log is Westfield Farm's classic surface-ripened blue goat's milk cheese. To make it, freshly-formed chèvre curds are inoculated with the Penicillium roqueforti mold. They're then formed into log shapes and transferred to a maturing room where they age for about two weeks, losing some moisture and developing an exterior covering of blue mold. Unlike traditional blues, which are pierced so that oxygen flows into the cheese and promotes blue mold growth, these logs are soft and compact, discouraging the growth of mold in the paste. 

Tasting Notes

The interior paste is moist and fluffy, and bone-white in color. Visually, when cut in a cross section, you can see the disc of white encircled by a ring of blue. Flavors are milky, clean, and bright with citrus notes and an earthy, piquant tang from the blue mold.

Pairings

Smear hunks of Blue Log on slices of dried pear for a mouthful that balances sweetness and tang.