Country of Origin: Canada

Milk-type: Unpasteurized (thermalized) Cow’s milk

This Québécois blue cheese, produced by Fromagerie du Presbytère, is marbled thoroughly with greenish veins of Penicillium Roqueforti. The beautiful, naturally forming rind is a selling point in and of itself; a thin firm crust, with a mottled taupe colouring, punctuated by ochre spots and blue to jade lining where the blue vein reaches the surface makes for a stunningly rustic presentation.

The flavour of Bleu d’Elizabeth is certainly on the more robust, full-bodied end of the spectrum of blue-veined cheeses. Like most cheeses made from unpasteurized milk, it is naturally bold and complex, with a pleasantly assertive aroma combining notes of turned soil, hay after rain, and wild mushrooms. The blue veining is prominent, and the flavour thereof is deliciously intense—somewhat spicy somewhat woody—with a yeasty scent remeniscent of freshly baked sourdough.