Grand Noir Blue Cheese
Germany
Grand Noir makes an entrance. Beneath its dramatic black wax lies a pale, buttery cheese threaded with dark blue veins—rich, creamy and considerably gentler than appearances suggest.
On the palate it is wonderfully smooth. Sweet cream and butter arrive first, followed by savory blue, a measured saltiness and a lingering, slightly spicy finish. The blue has authority without becoming aggressive.
This is blue cheese for people who already love blue—and quite possibly the one to convert those who insist they don't. Give it time to warm, a good piece of bread and very little interference.
Grand Noir is lactose-free, gluten-free, pasteurized, and made without additives or preservatives.
Appearance & Aroma: - Ivory to pale yellow beneath striking black wax, generously marbled with dark blue veins. Aromas are creamy and buttery, with an earthy, savory blue-cheese character.
Texture & Flavor: - Exceptionally creamy and smooth, melting almost effortlessly across the palate. Rich butter and sweet cream meet savory blue, salt and a restrained peppery tang.
Serve simply with crusty country bread, walnuts, ripe pear, figs, dried fruit or a spoonful of fig preserves. Dark chocolate makes an unexpectedly good companion.
Crumble it over a salad of bitter greens, pear and toasted walnuts. Melt it into a sauce for steak, spoon it over roasted mushrooms, or let it soften over a hot baked potato.
It is particularly good folded through gnocchi or pasta with mushrooms, melted onto a burger, stirred into creamy polenta, or crumbled over roasted beets.
And then there is the simplest approach: Grand Noir, warm bread, ripe pear and a knife. Sometimes cooking merely gets in the way.
Keep refrigerated at 35–46°F (2–8°C) and well wrapped after cutting. Remove about 30 minutes before serving so the texture softens and the full aroma emerges. The black wax is not edible and should be removed before serving.
Grand Noir is a pasteurized cow's-milk blue cheese from Bavaria, Germany, produced by Käserei Champignon. The milk is associated with Bavaria's Allgäu region, and specialty-cheese sources identify it as coming from Bavarian Brown Swiss cows.
Its unmistakable black wax is more than handsome packaging. The cheese is matured within the protective mantle using a special cold-ripening process the cheesemaker calls “Affinage Noir.” Selected cultures develop the dark blue marbling while the wax helps preserve moisture, contributing to Grand Noir's unusually supple, creamy character.
It is made with microbial rather than animal rennet, making it vegetarian-friendly. The current producer information also identifies Grand Noir as lactose-free, gluten-free, pasteurized, and made without additives or preservatives.
The result is rather clever: the depth and personality we want from blue cheese, without requiring a wrestling match to enjoy it.
| Milk | Cow |
|---|---|
| Texture | Semi-Soft |
| Country | Germany |
