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What is Mobay Cheese?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Mobay Cheese is an American cheese, not to be confused with the standard orange cheeses called “American.” It derives from an old French cheese making style. The name Mobay is a corruption of Morbier a type of semi-soft cheese made in France that has two layers, separated by a layer of edible ash. The French style is quite different from the American version. It uses two different types of cows’ milk to create two separate layers of cheese. One layer is made up of morning milk, and the second layer is made up of cows’ milk from the afternoon milking.

This process is said to have developed by small farmers with limited dairy supplies who had to wait until afternoon for enough milk to fill the waiting cheese fully. If the first layer were left uncovered, it would start to create a crust. Ash, from woods like Juniper or from herbs, provided the perfect way to eliminate crust formation so that the cheese molds could wait for the second layer of milk.

Mobay cheese is made from cow's milk.
Mobay cheese is made from cow's milk.

Mobay cheese is a take off and exciting version of the French style. Instead of relying on cows’ milk, artisans create a cheese that is one layer goat and one layer sheep milk cheese. The resultant semi-soft Mobay cheese is a very interesting, and quite varied in taste combination cheese. It has some of the strong flavor of goat cheese, which is mellowed by the sheep cheese layer, and many people love the taste.

Semi-soft Mobay cheese melts well, and can be crumbled atop pizzas and pastas.
Semi-soft Mobay cheese melts well, and can be crumbled atop pizzas and pastas.

Cheese makers use a variety of different edible ash formulas. Some use grape vine ash, for instance, and this imparts a subtle and smoky layer to the cheese. Others look at the separation point of ash as a way of really getting two cheeses for one. In some areas, you can ask people to “split” the Mobay cheese along the ash line, which can give you essentially wedges of goat and wedges of sheep cheese.

On the other hand, you can buy sheep or goat cheese if you prefer one to the other. If you like both, Mobay cheese solves your problem. It melts well and can be used to top of pizza, can be crumbled into salads, or makes a delicious cheese choice for a cheese course. It’s excellent paired with fruit, served on crackers and many people suggest that Mobay cheese served with port is the perfect after dinner “dessert” or a fantastic first course.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent DelightedCooking contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent DelightedCooking contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

ellafarris

Mobay is a delicious cheese on both pizza and in salads but my favorite is actually drunken goat cheese salad. It's fantastic with those big juicy slices of tomatoes sandwiched between thin slices of the goat cheese.

In case your wondering drunken goat cheese is made by submerging a round of cheese in a sweet red wine for about seventy two hours.

It comes out with a thin purple rind that gives it a sweet fruity flavor with a creamy texture. The goats aren't abused in any way and it's an excellent choice for goat cheese lovers.

babylove

Some people can't tell the difference between the goat and sheep side of mobay cheese. They do compliment each other well, but goat cheese has more of a strong earthy flavor as opposed to the milder sheep side.

You should try it on a homemade grilled cheese pizza sometime. It's delicious. Add some spicy Italian sausage and a few Spanish olives and you may never go back to plain old mozzarella pizza again.

aviva

I love mobay cheese. It has such a sweet nutty flavor that is slighty sharp. My friends and I have played a game before where we had to guess whether we were eating the goat side or the sheep side of the cheese. It was a fun night. A little too much wine but a lot of delicious cheeses.

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    • Mobay cheese is made from cow's milk.
      By: Andrey Kuzmin
      Mobay cheese is made from cow's milk.
    • Semi-soft Mobay cheese melts well, and can be crumbled atop pizzas and pastas.
      By: emde71
      Semi-soft Mobay cheese melts well, and can be crumbled atop pizzas and pastas.