Murray’s Cave Aged Limited Finocchietto Blue
$32.80 / Lb
- Pasteurized
- Animal Rennet
- Age: 3 Months
- Cow Milk
- by Murray's Cheese Caves
- United States
- ApproachableAdventurous
- SoftHard
Inspired by traditional Italian herb-coated cheeses, this Cave Aged selection is one bold blue. Young, rindless wheels of Point Reyes Creamery Bay Blue cheese, a mellow, sweet blue, are aged in our Natural Rind Cave for at least 80 days. They’re then coated in fennel seeds—or finocchietto in Italian—and vacuum sealed to infuse them with an herbaceous, licorice-tinged essence. The result is a fudgy paste with notes of soy sauce, chocolate, anise, and a touch of tropical fruit. Pair it with an equally herbaceous choice, like Brooklyn Cured Sliced Finocchiona.
“One of our only Murray's cave-aged blues. Coated in a herbaceous rind of fennel seeds, it gets its name from finocchio, the Italian word for fennel. To stay Italian-inspired, pair it with Finocchiona salami and a deep Italian red.”
Fennel Seed,Pasteurized Cow's Milk, Salt, Cultures, Enzyme (Rennet), And Penicillium Roqueforti
- Young, rindless wheels of sweet and mellow Bay Blue from California’s Point Reyes Creamery arrive at our Caves to be aged for at least 80 days in our Natural Rind Cave.
- Fennel seed is a spice with a warm, aromatic flavor used in sweet and savory recipes around the globe, from chai tea to sausages.
- Finocchietto Blue pairs perfectly with bold accompaniments like finocchiona or hot sopressata and a glass of juicy Italian red.
- At Murray’s Cheese Caves in Queens, New York, our experts age and mature cheeses to perfection, creating unique products that are exclusive to Murray’s.
- We built our caves to enhance the quality of our products, as well as to honor the craft of cheesemakers across the globe. The practice of aging cheese, known in French as affinage, was relatively rare in the United States when we built our first set of caves in 2004.
- The cheeses that mature in our caves are crafted in a variety of ways, which are reflected on their labels, described below.
- Cave Aged Original cheeses are produced from a Murray’s original recipe—we have a hand in every step of the cheesemaking process.
- Cave Aged Reserve cheeses are made in collaboration with some of our favorite cheesemakers. They send us unaged wheels, and we use unique aging techniques to produce something completely new.
- Cave Aged Limited cheeses are born out of our constant innovation and experimentation, only available for a limited time.
- Cheeses in the Cave Aged category are aged in our caves with methods that replicate the treatment they would’ve received from their original producer. This category is largely populated by bloomy rind cheeses that don’t fare well in transport.
- Murray's operates four caves, designed to ensure that each cheese matures in its ideal environment—the Bloomy Rind Cave, Natural Rind Cave, Washed Rind Cave, and Alpine Cave.
- The temperature, humidity, and microbial activity in each cave are controlled and monitored with the greatest precision.
