Buttermilk Blue Affinée is a semi-soft blue that Roth Cheese ages for 6+ months, compared with 2+ months for the original Buttermilk Blue. Roth describes the result as a “deliciously piquant and earthy flavor,” and Cheese.com ranks it among the creamiest and strongest of all blue cheeses.
Roth says it selects just a few Buttermilk Blue wheels for the longer aging, and it lists the same four ingredients on both cheeses: cultured milk, salt, enzymes and Penicillium roqueforti.
In This Article
What Is Buttermilk Blue Affinée?
Emmi Roth makes Affinée, and Cheese.com places the maker in Monroe, Wisconsin. Cheese.com lists it as a semi-soft, blue-veined cheese with an ivory color, a creamy texture, a natural rind and a rich aroma.
Milk is where the sources split. Roth's page lists only “cultured milk,” Cheese.com says “unpasteurized cow's milk,” and Zabar's lists Jersey cow milk as raw.
Roth's Affinée page never uses the words pasteurized, raw or Jersey, so the Jersey detail rests on one retailer's listing.
Cheese.com lists Blue Affinee Cheese and Buttermilk Bleu Affinee as other names for the cheese, and Zabar's notes that it contains no buttermilk despite the name.
Deli Business places the plant that makes the standard Buttermilk Blue in Seymour, Wisconsin.
How Does Affinée Differ From the Original Buttermilk Blue?
Aging and selection are the only differences Roth states between Affinée and the original cheese, because both product pages list the same ingredients and the same nutrition panel.
| Point | Original Buttermilk Blue | Buttermilk Blue Affinée |
|---|---|---|
| Aging on Roth's page | Cellar-aged 2+ months | Aged 6+ months, from just a few selected wheels |
| Roth's flavor line | “Tangy, yet mellow” | “Deliciously piquant and earthy” |
| Awards Roth lists | 2nd place at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in 2017 and 2013; Best of Class at the 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest; Bronze at the 2016 World Cheese Awards | 2nd place at the 2011 U.S. Cheese Championship |
| Formats sources name | Wheels, retail cuts and crumbles (Deli Business); four-ounce wedges in major grocery chains (The Cheese Professor) | A cut piece of about 8 oz at Zabar's |
Deli Business, writing about Roth's blues in 2020, describes Affinée as richer and more intensely flavored than the standard cheese.
The Cheese Professor's description of a silky texture, a restrained blue character and hints of white pepper and anise is for the original cheese.
What Does Affinée Taste Like?
Three sources agree on a strong, blue-forward cheese: Roth says piquant and earthy, Cheese.com says earthy, piquant and strong with a rich aroma, and Zabar's calls it an “assertive blue” with a dominant lactic flavor.
The body is creamy. Roth says Affinée epitomizes the “rich and creamy blues,” and both Cheese.com and Zabar's list it as semi-soft.
What Should You Serve With Affinée?
Wine is where two sources agree. Roth and Cheese.com both name the same two wines, and Cheese.com adds a third.
| Pairing | Type | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Dates, pears and apples | Food | Roth's Affinée page lists all three. |
| Olives and roasted red peppers | Food | Roth's Affinée page lists both. |
| Port | Wine | Named by Roth and by Cheese.com. |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | Wine | Named by Roth and by Cheese.com. |
| Amarone | Wine | Named by Cheese.com only. |
Roth's pairings for the original differ: honey, figs, dark chocolate, dark beer, Riesling and gin.
Roth names three uses for Affinée, while Cheese.com and Zabar's add a burger topping.
| Use | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Mashed potatoes | Roth suggests blending Affinée into them. |
| Crostini | Roth suggests spreading it on crostini. |
| Salads | Roth suggests crumbling it on salads, and Zabar's lists crumbling over a salad. |
| Burgers | Cheese.com calls it perfect as a burger topping, and Zabar's lists melting it on a burger. |
| Salad dressing | Cheese.com lists it as an option for dressing. |
Is Affinée Worth More Than the Original?
The ingredient lists match, so the extra cost buys aging and selection rather than different ingredients.
Price evidence is thin. Zabar's lists an 8 oz piece of Affinée at $12.99, and the closest thing to an original price signal is The Cheese Professor calling Buttermilk Blue a value cheese, with no price for a like-for-like comparison.
That leaves flavor as the deciding factor: pay for Affinée if you want the piquant, earthy end of Roth's range, and stay with the original if you want the mellow one.
What Do the Nutrition Label and Diet Claims Say?
Roth's panels list identical values for Affinée and the original per 1 oz (28 g) serving.
The same panel lists 8 g of total fat, 6 g of protein, 30 mg of cholesterol, under 1 g of carbohydrate and 0 g of sugar. Those carbohydrate and sugar figures are the label's guide to lactose.
- Vegetarian: Roth's Affinée page carries the label, and its FAQ says Buttermilk Blue uses vegetarian rennet from GMO-free micro-organisms.
- Gluten-free: Roth's page carries the label, and its FAQ reports blue-veined cheeses below the detectable 5 ppm of gliadin.
- rBST-free: Roth's Affinée page carries the label.
Is Buttermilk Blue Affinée Safe in Pregnancy?
Pregnancy guidance for a semi-soft blue like Affinée turns on two things: whether the milk was pasteurized and whether the cheese is heated. The NHS says pasteurised or unpasteurised soft blue-veined cheeses, such as Danish blue, must be thoroughly cooked, while hard cheeses are safe either way.
If Affinée's milk is raw, as Cheese.com and Zabar's list it, the CDC's riskier list covers it, because that list names blue-veined cheese made from unpasteurized milk. The CDC's safer choice is pasteurized soft cheese heated to an internal temperature of 165°F or until steaming hot, and it says pregnant women are 10 times more likely to get a Listeria infection.
How Should You Buy and Store Affinée?
Roth's blue page lists Buttermilk Blue, Buttermilk Blue Crumbles, Buttermilk Blue Affinée, Moody Blue and a Gorgonzola-style blue named Buttermilk Gorgonzola, so the Affinée name and a 6+ month statement separate it from the rest.
Roth's page says only “KEEP REFRIGERATED.” For wrapping and keeping time, follow the general cheese storage rules.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
It is a longer-aged Roth blue made from a few selected Buttermilk Blue wheels and aged for 6+ months.
Roth ages the original for 2+ months and calls it tangy yet mellow. Affinée gets 6+ months and Roth calls its flavor piquant and earthy.
Roth's page does not say. Cheese.com lists the milk as unpasteurized and Zabar's lists it as raw, so confirm on the label.
Roth lists dates, pears, apples, olives, roasted red peppers, Port and Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cheese.com adds Amarone.
Roth suggests blending it into mashed potatoes, and Cheese.com and Zabar's mention burgers and salads.
