Berkshire Blue Cheese
Made And Distributed by Berkshire Cheese LLC
P.O. Box 35
Dalton, Ma. 01227
413-842-5128
www.berkshirecheese.com
ira@berkshirecheese.com

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why unpasteurized milk?

Because it makes for a tastier cheese. One little problem with pasteurization is that it kills (along with the bad) the good bacteria that destroy harmful microbes. We prefer to keep the good right where they belong, seeing as they would have to be reintroduced artificially anyway. Pasteurization also inactivates various native enzymes in milk, which in the slow aging process produce flavor, character and complexity in our Berkshire Blue.

Why Jersey cows' milk?

Because Jersey milk has consistently high butterfat, calcium and protein contents. No other cows' milk compares. Period. (Some trivia: Jerseys have the highest IQ of domesticated bovines. Any farmer with a mixed herd will tell you that when his cows escape for greener pastures, it is usually a Jersey leading the herd.)

Why do you make such a big deal about doing everything by hand?

To quote the eminent food science writer Harold McGee, milk is a '"living tissue," so complex are the interactions among its manifold enzymes and microbes. By the time our unpasteurized milk begins to become Berkshire Blue, we have almost a higher life form on our hands full of all the allurements for attracting alien spoilers. Hence, hands on everything. It's the only way to ensure the hoops are filled properly for a well-shaped cheese and, as the maturing and aging processes proceed, to detect any anomaly that may require extra measures. Cheeses are turned every 12 hours the first week, then every second day, for a total of 24 revolutions. Actually, our insistence on close supervision begins at the very beginning of the cheese making process, at daybreak, at the farm.

Because the diet of the Jerseys changes with the seasons, which have a way of sneaking up. As an artisan cheese maker, we refuse to adjust for, say, the changes in protein and fat content of the milk by adding powdered skim milk, or cream, or additional rennet. We make adjustments by time and temperature, and it sometimes takes a few batches to get back to the optimum consistency. So Berkshire Blue can range in density from slightly softer than Cheddar to a firm Brie. But in every case, because the ingredients are the same, the taste is the same. And in answer to a related question, the hardness or softness of Berkshire Blue doesn't have so much to do with age as with the Jersey's seasonal diet.

 How do you get Berkshire Blue to be more creamy than other blues?

Not by adding cream. Actually, Berkshire Blue only seems more creamy. We strive for a product in which you taste the Jersey milk and the blue mould first, and everything else a distant second. Our most recent test for salt content was 2.2%; the industry average is about 6%. Our pH is high, around 7.5, meaning we are a low-acid cheese.

How does Berkshire Blue differ from the more famous English blue, Stilton?

For a factory cheese, Stilton isn't bad. Its formula is a closely guarded secret on the order of Coca-Cola, but a close reading of the official history of Stilton indicates it is made each day from thousand-gallon deliveries of milk from many farms, which is then pasteurized. It is fashioned in large wheels to be aged several months, and, to our taste, is very salty - at least the batches made for America. By contrast, we use milk from one dedicated herd, picking up 200 gallons of raw milk in our own truck during the morning milking. Also, we doubt the Stilton folks go to the trouble of using five different moulds- two starter cultures, two blue moulds (one fast-acting, one slow-acting) and a white mould for the skin. And, incidentally, Berkshire Blue is aged 60 days - the minimum the law allows - and has a skin and is therefore entirely edible. Stilton has a rind.

How should I serve Berkshire Blue?

Store refrigerated, but serve at room temperature. All cheeses should be served at room temperature, except those which should not be served at all. Also consider incorporating Berkshire Blue in a proper cheese course at the end of the entree; either with salad or alone with walnuts and raisins and, if you are so inclined, a glass of fine Port, Riesling or Sauterne. If you really want to go native, try it at breakfast! Instead of butter, have it on toast with a first-class marmalade, or, melt it over eggs. Sounds odd, but it's a delicious marriage of flavors. (To our mind, there are certain places where blue cheese does not belong - such as during cocktails or at wine tastings. We know the vast majority of our fans disagree, and we are grateful they do.)

What is the shelf life of Berkshire Blue?

When Berkshire Blue goes to market 60 days from its birth, it is at its peak, and will stay there for a month or more if kept properly by the cheesemonger. Beyond that, it slowly begins to get stronger, taking on an ammoniated after taste which eventually will obscure the subtleties of Berkshire Blue. We try to keep our distributors on a short leash by releasing cheese in small amounts, preferring their retail outlets to sell out before re-ordering. But it doesn't always work. If you believe the system has failed, please phone.

- Ira Grable, Cheese Maker -