aninra

Smørrebrød with blue cheese, apple, bacon, chives and a savoury spread (so good, I can't believe it's not butter!)

There are not many Danish food products that are widely known outside of Denmark, but, for some strange reason, Danish Blue cheese is certainly an exception!

I've always found this a bit odd, since in my experience, most North Americans are not big Blue Cheese fans. Instead, the palate on this side of the ocean seems to lean heavily towards milder cheesy tastes like those found in cheeses like Cheddar, Brick, Monterey Jack. So why is Danish Blue (known as Danablu in Denmark) so well known here?

In truth, I have no idea. But I do know that I personally love the stuff - from the mild, creamy kind to the most pungent, tear-inducing varieties. In North America, most of the Danish Blue cheese we can purchase is made by the giant Danish dairy company Arla under the brand name Rosenborg. They have apparently won numerous awards for their cheeses, and claim to use the highest quality ingredients. You can find the link to the Arla Danish Blue website here if you are interested in knowing what they have to say about themselves.

I have absolutely nothing against this cheese and in Denmark it is frequently used to make tasty smørrebrød - but in an attempt to adhere to New Nordic concepts, for my smørrebrød I prefer using locally produced Quebec blue cheese - of which there are many varieties. 

Great Quebec blue cheeses right along classics like Danablu, Rochefort, Fourme d'Ambert and Bleu D'Auvergne

RANDOM SIDEBAR: A brief side note about the name Rosenborg. Clearly this is a reference to the famous Royal castle/museum which sits in the heart of Copenhagen. I already mentioned this castle in my blog post about Frikadeller and Denmark's closely guarded secrets, so, randomly, I'll use this as a segue to mention my other favourite Danish castle - Fredericksborg. This enormous castle is located in the town of Hillerød to the north west of Copenhagen. It was built in the early 1600s and served as the residence of King Christian IV. Today it is a museum - the Museum of National History. If you go to Denmark, I highly recommend visiting this beautiful landmark.

Fredericksborg Castle in Hillerød, cool but nothing to do with Blue Cheese

In order to make the smørrebrød described in this blog post, I wanted to try a number of locally produced Blues to see which would be most similar to a typical Danablu. Here is what I found:

3 Quebec Blues: Bleu Benedictin, Bleu Ermite, Rassembleu

Rassembleu  Aged blue with a potent smell reminiscent of ammonia. The taste, on the other hand, is very mild and slightly bitter. Not very blue in my opinion, and not ideal for a Blue smørrebrød.

Bleu Benedictin  A light and creamy blue cheese that crumbles easily. It has a nice, mild blue flavour that is perfect for smørrebrød.

Bleu Ermite  Drier texture, with a very light, almost imperceptible blue flavour. Looks blue, but taste more like an italian Romano or some other aged dry cheese. While, I like it, I wouldn't personally use this one for a Blue smørrebrød, but you might like it.

So once you've settled on your blue cheese, you need gather the rest of your ingredients. What you need for this sandwich:

• Danish rye bread
• Savoury spread made from bacon fat, apple, onion, and thyme
• Bacon (sliced thinly and fried)
• A couple of apple slices
• Chive for garnish
• and, or course, the star of the show...Blue cheese!

Delicious and bacony, savoury spread for smørrebrød