For 200 years Dorset Blue Vinny was a common farmhouse cheese made in Dorset, England. The milk was skimmed for butter and some of the leftover milk would be made into cheese. But since low fat skim milk generally doesn't have enough fat to encourage mold growth, the cheese would sometimes (so the stories go) be set on the floor along with some piece of moldy clothing or soggy burlap sacks. Other common includes dipping moldy horse harnesses in the whey.

In the 20th century production of Blue Vinny declined until it disappeared completely around 1960. In the 1980s Mike Davies at Woodbridge Farm revived the old recipe and began making the cheese again. These dayus mold cultures are used rather than moldy sacks.

The cheese starts as unpasteurized skimmed milk. Vegetarian rennet and a penicillin mold culture is added. Once coagulated the curd is cut in to small pieces and left to drain overnight. The next day the whey is removed. At this point the curds are cut into blocks, milled, and salted before being packed into molds. To encourage the mold growth the fresh cheese is left at room temperature for 5 days and turned regularly. The cheese is then coated in a flour and mold paste and set to ripen for 2-5 months. Piercing takes place after one month to promote further mold growth.

Appearance - Semi-hard and crumbly. Thick irregular rind. Subtle blue veins. White paste.