A Rogue Creamery Cheese Plate That’s Not Singing the Blues
March 28, 2010
Not long after The Lady became a Cheese Steward she attended a DPI seminar that included cheese tastings with several cheesemakers and cheese experts. I wrote about this in a post that discussed the importance of terroir.
One of the speakers was David Gremmels, President of the American Cheese Society and one of the owners of the Rogue Creamery located in Central Point, Oregon. The Lady was struck by his level of passion regarding cheese, in general, and especially the cheeses he makes. He treated the group to three cheeses that were not blues, the cheeses most associated with the Rogue Creamery.
After much haranguing from her favorite Feline Foodie (that would be me), The Lady brought wedges of those three cheeses home for moi to sample and review.
The first I sampled is a recent addition to the long list of wonderful cheeses that Rouge Creamery makes: Tou Velle. Tou Velle is a sharp cheddar made from raw cow’s milk and is sweet, nutty and creamy. It melts on the tongue and would be delightful when added to your favorite mac n cheese recipe.
A bit of trivia: this cheese is named after Tou Velle State Park in Southwest Oregon; not too far from the Rogue Creamery.
Second on this Rogue Creamery Cheese Plate was Lavender Cheddar. I was surprised lavender could successfully be added to cheddar; but Rogue Creamery has done it. In fact, this combination is so good, it won a 3rd Place Award in 2009 from the American Cheese Society.
The lavender flavor is subtle and the cheese is very creamy. The Lady and The Man ate it atop a Beecher’s Hazelnut Cracker and pronounced the pairing a good choice.
Last, and certainly not to be considered less than the other two was the Chocolate Stout Cheddar, which combines three winners: cheese, chocolate and beer!! How can you go wrong??? Well, you can’t with this cheese. It’s hoppy, yeasty, creamy and chocolatey… woohoo!!
Three great cheeses from David and the gang at Rogue Creamery. The Lady wishes she sold these at the kiosk, but alas, she doesn’t and has to sneak into the competition to buy them for her favorite Feline Foodie.
I give these three non-bluesy cheeses from Rogue Creamery 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).
Serving Suggestions: The three of these on a cheese plate are a definite winner. You could make it better by adding Oregon Blue to the plate.
Cheesemonger's Weblog 
December 19, 2010 at 6:03 AM
[…] Caveman Blue is a result of painstaking cheesemaking by David and Cary that began in 2002 soon after buying the creamery from the cheesemaker legend, Ig Vella. The guys wanted to distinguish themselves and Caveman was to be the cheese to represent the “new generation” at Rogue. However, they had some problems with consistency and while they labored to perfect this cheese, they became famous with other winners such as Rogue River Blue and Echo Mountain Blue. They also expanded their line to include non-blue cheese favorites as well such as Tou Velle and Lavender Cheddar. […]
August 7, 2011 at 10:03 AM
[…] Rogue Creamery’s Chocolate Stout Cheddar (3rd) […]
August 7, 2011 at 10:03 AM
[…] Rogue Creamery’s Chocolate Stout Cheddar (3rd) […]
August 26, 2011 at 8:17 AM
[…] to a Rogue Cheese Plate that included two cheeses we have previously reviewed: Oregon Blue and Tou Velle. Also on the plate were two cheeses, we have not reviewed. One is Echo Mountain. The other will be […]
September 3, 2011 at 4:24 PM
[…] David and head cheesemakers, Craig and Jason, worked with the winners to make two vats of cheese: Tou Velle and Oregon Blue. After aging, these cheeses will be sold exclusively at Fred Meyer Cheese Kiosks in […]
September 5, 2011 at 11:19 AM
[…] both a snacking and cooking cheese. The Lady plans to use the rest of it with a larger wedge of Rouge Creamery Tou Velleto make a mac n cheese (the recipe will appear on our sister blog… stay tuned). 2005 Madrone […]