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I was recently asked "What's the difference between varieties of blue cheese?" It's an excellent question, and one that should be answered for everyone.
Blue cheese is made from either ewes', goats', or cows' milk. The key ingredient, is the addition of blue molds from two different strains,
Penicillium glaucum and Penicillium roqueforti. The molds are added to the milk, before the cheese is formed into rounds. Next, the cheese
wheels are punctured with steel needles, allowing oxygen to penetrate the cheese. The introduction of oxygen allows the blue mold development to begin.
The following table shows the types of milk and molds used in some of the most famous varieties of blue cheese. It is the different combinations of milk and molds
that give blue cheese its subtle taste variations.
Cheese
|
Region
|
Milk
|
Mold
|
|
| Roquefort |
Roquefort, France |
Ewe |
Penicillium roqueforti |
|
| Stilton |
Stilton in
Lacastershire, England |
Cow |
Penicillium glaucum &
Penicillium roqueforti |
|
| Gorgonzola |
Lombardy town of
Gorgonzola, Italy |
Cow |
Penicillium glaucum |
There are numerous additional varieties of blue cheeses from France, Denmark and the United States. If you want to avoid the mold, try the non-mold-seeded version of Gorgonzola known as Pannarone, Gorgonzola Dolce or Stracchino.
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