Blue Murder, or Blue Monday as it was previously named, is a Scottish semi hard blue cheese with a distinctive and somewhat steely taste that is a perfect accompaniment to a dark ale or stout.
Blue Murder is one of the cheeses passionately created by the Ruaraidh Stone and his family at Highland Fine Cheeses. With a rich history of cheese making in the family, cheese making began in earnest at their family farm at Blarliath which covers an area of around 80 acres running along the beautiful Dornoch Firth and to the West of Tain.
The company is focused on mould-ripened cheese with brie, blue and washed rind styles. The milk comes from three farms, Sibster just west of Wick, Thrumster with a herd of organic Jersey cows and Rootfield on the Black Isle which is converting to Ayrshire cows
The cheese was originally made for Alex James, the singer from the pop group Blur, and Juliette Harbutt, the well known cheese expert, and named Blue Monday after one of Alex’s famous songs. However, a dispute between makers lead to the cheese now being called Blue Murder !
The cheese is made with pasteurised cows milk and vegetarian rennet and is matured for up to 8 weeks. During the maturation period, it develops a mellow, soft, creamy texture. The flavours are savoury, slightly sweet, buttery, spicy, and rich. It has a kick of chocolate and malt and a perfect blue cheese for any cheeseboard.
