Oxford Blue is a variety and brand of blue cheese produced in

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswolds, Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeas ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England in 1995 by French baron Robert Pouget in the tradition of

Stilton cheese Stilton is an English cheese, produced in two varieties: Blue, which has '' Penicillium roqueforti'' added to generate a characteristic smell and taste, and White, which does not. Both have been granted the status of a protected designation of o ...

(it was produced in a Stilton dairy) but with a creamier consistency especially when the cheese was allowed to mature. It is a soft and creamy cheese that has tangy, aromatic and spicy qualities. By 2013, around five tonnes were produced monthly.

Characteristics

Oxford Blue is prepared using unpasteurised cow's milk and is ripened (aged) for 14 to 16 weeks. Its rind is sticky and wet in texture. The cheese is soft, creamy and moist, has aromatic, tangy and spicy qualities, and has traces of white wine and chocolate in its flavour. It has been described as a "French-style English blue" that can be used "as an alternative" to

", and as similar to Dolcelatte and St Agur cheeses, with a less strong flavour than

Roquefort Roquefort is a sheep milk cheese from Southern France, and is one of the world's best known blue cheeses. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur ...

or Stilton.

History

Oxford Blue was created by French

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Robert Pouget in 1995. It was initially produced by Hartington Creamery in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

until 2009, when the creamery closed, and subsequently in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Wales. In 2013, efforts began to start producing Oxford Blue at a new, small

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

, Oxfordshire, which was developed in a converted barn. At the Burford site in 2013, Pouget encountered an initial problem of having nowhere to dispose of waste

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

, a byproduct of the cheese's production, which was at around each month. The problem was solved by the introduction of an

anaerobic digester Anaerobic digestion is a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to Waste management, manage waste or to produce fuels. Mu ...

to process the whey. In April 2013, around five

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s of Oxford Blue were produced monthly. In 2015 the cheese was distributed by the Oxford Cheese Company.

References

{{blue cheeses Blue cheeses British cheeses

Characteristics

History

See also

References