Battle of the soft blues

Some months ago a friend passed a cheese platter and indicated the soft blue was a recent favourite

As I bit into the creamy centre I thought it would have to be the Emporium Smooth Blue from Aldi.

Then I considered it might be the Castello Creamy Blue and wondered if I could tell the difference between them.

So I recently bought both and compared them, alongside a King Island Lighthouse Blue.

Served a slice of each onto a plate and, straight out of the fridge, the Smooth Blue was softer.

As I sampled each still cold, the Emporium cheese warmed quickly in my mouth and began to feel buttery.

It melted on my tongue, separating salty liquid and dairy solid.

In contrast the Castello Creamy Blue had much more mould and this would be significant.

By the time I had a second round about ten minutes later, Castello was getting the buttery result but it had a piquant quality that hit a high note both sharp in the palette and slightly fragrant.

When I looked at the nutritional count on the Castello and Emporium boxes, they were identical.

The ingredients looked similar too and both cheese are imported from Denmark.

I wonder if the noticeable increase in mould in the Castello shows it is cellared for longer?

Might this explain the difference in price between the two cheese?

The Emporium is 50g heavier than the Castello, with the latter on special at $5 -- which met the former and made both cheeses equal in price.

In contrast the King Island double-brie blue wasn't beginning to warm up until the final round.

As the blocks of cheese were eaten over the following days, I noticed I would grab the Emporium for a quick snack.

It would closer to being ready to consume, while the Castello would taste better after warming to the ambient temperature.

All three cheeses taste great, I've decided.

Especially on hot potato.