An Oregon cheese stands alone. A blue cheese called Rogue River Blue, made by Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Oregon, has been declared the best cheese in the world at the 2019 World Cheese Awards. The event took place Friday in Bergamo, Italy, where cheeses from around the globe were judged over a single day by technical experts, retailers, buyers and food writers. They looked for color, consistency, texture and, ultimately, taste to determine the winner. ... According to the creamery’s website, Rogue River Blue is made from organic milk, cave-aged nine to 11 months and hand-wrapped in Syrah grape leaves that have soaked in pear liqueur. It’s known to exhibit flavors of blackberry, vanilla, hazelnut and bacon – all of which would probably pair nicely. Winners in previous years have included a Fanaost and Kraftkar from Norway and a Cornish Kern from England. The World Cheese Awards has not yet released the rest of the 2019 results. https://www.oregonlive.com/entertai...heese-named-the-best-cheese-in-the-world.html
This is not the first time that an Oregon cheese has taken first place in the blue cheese category. By the way, did you know that Tillamook has sold more cheddar cheese than any other company in the world?
Tillamook cheese comes mostly from cows kept in concrete and dirt feedlots, not green pastures, lawsuit says More than ⅔ of the milk for Tillamook-brand products comes from cows on the opposite side of the state -- including from the nation’s largest “industrialized dairy factory farm” in Boardman, 230 miles away in the desert of eastern Oregon, according to the lawsuit. The Threemile Canyon facility -- with 32,000 dairy cows and a total of 70,000 cattle -- is comprised of concrete or “barren dirt feedlots” and “robotic carousels” that milk the “continuously confined” animals, according to the suit. ... “Boardman is flat, arid, and often swelteringly hot -- nothing like Tillamook County,” the suit states. “And the mega-dairy in Boardman is so large that it is visible from space.” https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/08/tillamook-ice-cream-cheese-come-mostly-from-cows-kept-in-concrete-and-dirt-feedlots-not-green-pastures-lawsuit-says.html
I was thinking of mooring the MarAzul in Garibaldi for awhile. Then I drove up that way to take a look, on my way to Scappoose. Then it hit me, nearing Tillimook where those big 200 yard sprinklers do their work. Damn! I'd have to drive through here every dang trip! It readjusted my thinking.
I like Bergamo. I once got really lost in Bergamo. Given that Blue Cheese can't ever be the best at anything because it is blue cheese, I would not be surprised if all other entrants were lost and never made it to the judging room. Blue cheese? Yuk.
It's a great seasonal cheese. Soaked in Clear Creek pear brandy and wrapped in Syrah grapes leaves. Only available to cheesemongers for a short 1 month period. This shit has been one of my top 5 cheeses for about 10 years now.
All I know is that I knew two dairy farmers in the Tillamook area that sold their milk to Tillamook. One was a patient at the VA hospital that shared a room with me. Apparently, the Tillamook area has a dairy farmers association that sells all of their milk to Tillamook.
Most definitely. However, last time I ran a cheese counter at Cheese Bar in Portland, based on the distributor's price and our mark up, it was selling for $43.99 a lb.
