Rogue Valley Cheese: Blue Cheese and Creameries

Rogue Valley cheese means, for most people, Rogue Creamery in Central Point, a few miles north of Medford. Taste blue cheese at room temperature, in small bites, with honey, pears or nuts, and finish with the strongest one, noting how the flavor changes as the cheese warms.

Travel Oregon's cheese guide highlights the creamery, and its blues are the reason many visitors plan an autumn drive. Check with the creamery before you go, since release dates and quantities can change from year to year.

What is the Rogue Valley cheese story?

A valley with pasture, milk and a cool cellar climate grew a cheesemaking tradition. The best-known name is Rogue Creamery, in Central Point, whose cheese shop sits on North Front Street along the old highway. The creamery makes blue cheeses and cheddars from regional milk.

What is the Rogue River Blue release?

A blue cheese wrapped in leaves and aged for months. The creamery releases a limited vintage each year to coincide with the autumn equinox, so plan an autumn visit and check the creamery's own page for the current year's release. The release is a seasonal event for cheese lovers, and a visit to the shop in autumn is a tradition for many.

When you taste, start with the mildest cheese and finish with the blue, so the strong flavor does not hide the rest. Look at the rind and the paste, smell before you bite and note how the flavor changes as the cheese warms in your mouth. A sip of water, a slice of pear or a spoon of honey resets the palate between cheeses, and a plain cracker lets the cheese speak for itself.

Where are the Medford cheese shops?

Start with the Rogue Creamery shop in Central Point. For others, ask at the farmers market, at the co-op in Ashland and at grocery stores that carry regional cheese. The Ashland market guide lists places where local products appear.

What is Southern Oregon cheese beyond blue?

Cheddars, goat cheeses, fresh cheeses, sheep's-milk cheeses and aged hard cheeses come from farms across the region. Small producers sell at farmers markets, and a few tasting rooms offer pairings with wine. The valley's dairy and goat farms are scattered, and each has its own character.

How do you taste blue cheese properly?

Let it come to room temperature. Smell it first, then taste a small piece alone. Notice the salt, the creaminess, the sweetness and the bite. Pair it with honey, pears, walnuts or a sweet wine. A mild blue suits beginners; a stronger one rewards experience.

How do you build a cheese plate for a Rogue Valley trip?

Choose three cheeses of different styles: a soft, a hard and a blue. Add fruit, such as a local pear, nuts, bread and honey. Serve on a board with a knife for each cheese. The pears guide explains the fruit side, and the wine guide suggests a glass.

Why does a cheese rating need the name?

Cheese changes with the season and the vintage. A rating that says "the Rogue River Blue, a Saturday in October, creamy and sweet with a pear" tells another buyer what to look for. Add tags such as Cheese, Market Stall and Gluten-Free, and the note helps anyone planning a visit.

Rate each cheese as its own dish, so the creamy blue and the sharp cheddar keep their own stars. Name the cheese, say what you paired it with and add a tag. When a friend tasted beside you, tag them in the rating and they can add their own view of the same plate, which turns a tasting into a conversation.

How do you keep your notes?

Open the Mosey app, rate the cheese or the shop and save it in a list called Rogue Valley cheese, with a line on what you tasted. Invite friends to add theirs, and like and save lists that you want to keep. A shop that is not in the app yet can be added when you rate it. See the US food guides for other cheese regions.

What should you ask at a cheese shop?

Ask what is new, what is best this week and what pairs with what you already have. A cheesemonger would rather give you a taste than a lecture. Taste before you buy, and buy a small piece. Ask how to store it: wrap it in cheese paper or parchment, not plastic, and keep it in the vegetable drawer.

Is the creamery open to visitors? The shop welcomes visitors, and tastings are offered at different times. Ask what is running before you go, and plan to buy something to take home, because the tasting counter is dangerous to the budget.

How does cheese fit a trip? It travels well in a cooler, it makes a picnic and it pairs with the valley's wine and fruit. Plan a stop at a creamery shop early in the day, buy what you will eat that evening and keep the rest cold. A trip that includes cheese, fruit and wine is a trip that tastes like the place.

Heading somewhere else in Oregon? The Food in Oregon page links the rest.

After your next tasting, download the Mosey app, rate the best cheese by name and share the list with the friend who loves blue.