Stinky Blue

      Every single fully stocked pantry will have a healthy helping of stinky blue. This cheese is aged beyond the point of what many consider to be edible. Although, if you have the unique tastes required, the cheese is considered quite the delicacy in moderation.

Its Place on the Table

  At any reputable dinner and banquet table, a loaded plate of stinky blue is always on offer for any that would like to partake. Although not many actually either indulge or give into the peer pressure to eat it. Those that do enjoy some, often only enjoy very small portions alongside breads and ales. The small clusters of mold that delightfully pop when chewed are also very salty and have a unique, pungent flavour. Oddly, the flavour profile mostly appeals to older dwarves of a few centuries. Perhaps it has something to do with the dulling of taste buds.

"Passing the Blue"

  It has become somewhat of a joke to ‘pass the blue’ on to neighbours, friends or family when visiting. Often wrapped up neatly as a gift with care taken to double, triple or quadruple wrap it so that the smell doesn’t escape and let on the contents. Some blocks have been in circulation for years, passed back and forth between groups of friends. To prolong the joke, the dry air of dwarven cities simply refuses to make the cheese go bad and become inedible.

How Stinky Blue is Made

  The cheese is actually a human made foodstuff. It is one of the very few surfacefolk foods that have managed to take a hold amongst the dwarven populaces. Made from a cow’s milk, it is heated and acidified before being allowed to ripen and coagulate. From there, the curd is drained, salted, broken into loose chunks and added to moulds. At this stage, the aging process begins. After around 5 weeks, the mold on the outside of the cheese is dry and stable enough for it to be sold. The dwarves of Bakan’Grod are the lucky ones that get the cheese at its most edible state. The cities located on the outskirts usually receive the very aged, tough bundles of salty mold that only your great, great, great, great, great grandfather would be able to enjoy at the dinner table.      

This is a submission for my second Summer Camp - I hope you enjoy the world I am building!