Bresse Bleu

Bresse Bleu is a soft blue-veined cow's-milk cheese first developed in the early 1950s in the Bresse region of eastern France, around the same area famous for the Bresse chicken AOC. It was created by cheesemaker Henri Gignoux as an attempt to produce a milder, creamier alternative to Roquefort and other blue cheeses, using cow's milk and a Penicillium glaucum culture rather than the traditional sheep's milk. The result is a creamy, slightly sweet blue cheese that has become one of the most widely distributed French blues, both in France and abroad.

Young Bresse Bleu has a pale ivory interior with delicate blue-green veining and a soft, almost spreadable texture. As it matures, the blue becomes more pronounced and the flavor grows stronger, developing the characteristic tang of a well-aged blue without the sharpness of Roquefort. The cheese is sold in small cylinders wrapped in foil or in a thin layer of wax, and is a popular choice for cheese boards, for melting into a steak sauce with cream and brandy, or for layering onto a homemade pizza.

Look for Bresse Bleu in any supermarket cheese aisle in France and in most large cheese counters across Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. In France itself, sample it at fromageries in Bourg-en-Bresse, Mâcon, and Lyon, where it pairs naturally with a glass of Beaujolais or a sweet Jura white. Outside France, it is exported widely and is also commonly produced under license in the United States.