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Gorgonzola Cheese is a blue cheese made from cow's milk.

It is whitish or pale yellow with greenish-blue flecks and veins, and an inedible, rough reddish rind.

Gorgonzola is made from full-fat unpasteurized milk, ending up with a fat content of 48%. A cheese mould is lined with canvas, then with curds from the morning's milking of the cow. Then, the mould is filled in with curds from the previous evening's milking. The canvas is then lifted out of the mould, and let drain for 24 hours. Then the canvas is removed, the cheese is put back into the mould, salted, and then turned several times over the course of a week. It is then let stand for two months to age. The aging used to be done in caves, but now this is done in controlled storage areas. After this, holes are poked in the cheese to allow air to enter so the blue mould can develop. Then, the cheese is let age for a few more months.

Penicillium glaucum is the mould used; most other blue cheeses use "Penicillium roqueforti."

Gorgonzola is PDO protected in the EU. It can only be made in the Piedmont provinces of Novara, Vercelli, Cuneo and Casale Monferrato, and in Lombardy (in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Milan and Pavia.)

Gorgonzola Picante

(or "naturale" or "Mountain Gorgonzola" or Gorgonzola stagionata)

Gorgonzola Picante is the original. It is sharper than Gorgonzola Dolce because it is aged for about a year. It is firm and crumbly.

Gorgonzola Dolce

(Dolcelatte)

Gorgonzola Dolce (aka Dolcelatte) is a newer variety. It is creamier and much milder because it is not aged as long as the Picante, only 3 to 5 months. The rind is grey.

Cooking Tips
Gorgonzola becomes very mild and sweet when cooked.

Substitutes
Any other blue cheese, though some are stronger and some are milder than Gorgonzola.

Nutrition
About 48 to 50% butterfat.

Equivalents
2 oz = 50g = about 1/4 cup

Storage
Gorgonzola can be frozen. After freezing, though, it is best used for cooking or in salads, as it will probably become crumbly.

History
The usual historical hyperbole that swirls about other European cheeses also applies to Gorgonzola. Some people date it back to the 11th century, and on a good day, even back as far as 870 AD. A few even credit it to the Romans.

Language Notes
Named after the village of Gorgonzola which was north of Milan (in Piedmont, Northern Italy.). The village of Gorgonzola has now been absorbed into Milan.

Gorgonzola Cheese wasn't always called Gorgonzola, however: for the past several hundred years, the cheese was called "stracchino verde." Gorgonzola is an invented name, which came into force on 30 October 1955.

Also called:

See Also:

Protected Designation of Origin

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Blue Cheeses
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