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Blue cheese was—like most yummy foods—discovered by accident hundreds of years ago. Cheese makers found that some cheese, when left in caves and exposed to certain conditions, developed a mold on them. But the mold turned out to enhance, rather than spoil, the cheese! Blue cheese today is made by injecting cheese culture with Penicillium cultures (similar to penicillin!) that create blue-green veins in the curd. The blue cheese we know and love has a sharp, salty flavor and a distinctive, pungent aroma—strong, even for cheese!
Blue cheese is a general category of veined cheese, and you'll see specific names such as Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton and Maytag to identify particular types of blue cheese. It's used in everything from an eating cheese (served at room temperature), crumbled in salads and over meat, with fruit and crackers, as a salad dressing, or a condiment of course, for Buffalo chicken wings. Because it's so creamy and delicious, and because the sauces it's used in are just as decadent, blue cheese is a high-calorie indulgence.
Well, here's good news! Using reduced-fat ingredients and a bit of creativity, blue cheese dressing can now be part of your heart-healthy, lower fat diet. Pull up a bowl of salad and enjoy!
Lite and Luscious Blue Cheese Dressing A Brookshire's Best Recipe
1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
Whisk mayonnaise, buttermilk (or milk), yogurt, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Add cheese and stir, mashing with a spoon until the cheese is incorporated.
Serves 10, 2 tablespoons per serving
Nutritional Information: Calories Per Serving: 38, Fat: 3 g (1 g Saturated Fat), Cholesterol: 4 mg, Sodium: 215 mg, Carbohydrates: 2 g, Fiber: 0 g
© 2007, Brookshire Grocery Co. Nutrient counts are rounded to the nearest whole number. All dietary and lifestyle changes should be supervised by a physician.
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When you're trying to eat healthier, it's hard to skip the foods you've always loved. Take blue cheese dressing, for example. For many people, this is their favorite type of dressing—for salads and for dipping. But those same folks also know that blue cheese dressing isn't usually diet friendly.
