Bayley Hazen Blue

I first ran into a California cheesemaking company called Cowgirl Creamery at a farmers' market in Bethesda, Maryland. The lady manning their table told me they had a store in downtown Washington, D. C.; I don't get there that often, but yesterday I was at the Library of Congress and my path home would take me only a few blocks away from Cowgirl Creamery's store. So I broke journey at that point to visit the store. At the Bethesda location, they were selling only their own cheeses, but the store also includes a lot of other cheeses, both from the U. S. and imported from Europe. (Not as many as I can find at Whole Foods, but still I saw cheeses that Whole Foods does not carry.) One of the cheeses I saw was labeled "Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue." Now, the name "Jasper Hill" is familiar to me. They age and market the Landaff cheese I mentioned in a previous post, as well as a delicious clothbound cheddar. And I love blue cheeses, so I asked about this one. The person at the counter told me it was very much like a Stilton, which is a strong positive to me. Shropshire Blue, my favorite cheese, is also very close to a Stilton; some people say they are indistinguishable, though I think I can tell the difference. So I took a taste, liked it a lot, and bought some. And this posting to to mention the cheese to anyone who cooses to follow this blog.