Knowra Blue cheese Blue cheese Blue cheese is cheese ripened with blue-green Penicillium molds that grow through its interior, producing colored veins and a pungent flavor and aroma.
Penicillium roqueforti : A filamentous fungus used to ripen many blue cheeses, producing blue-green veins and characteristic flavor compounds. This mold is responsible for the signature veins and much of blue cheese’s aroma.
Roquefort : A French blue cheese made from sheep’s milk and aged in the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. It is a classic example of cave-ripened blue cheese made with Penicillium roqueforti.
Milk : A nutrient-rich liquid produced by mammals to feed their young and used as a raw material for many foods. Blue cheese begins as milk, whose composition influences the finished cheese.
Cheese pairing : The practice of combining cheese with foods or drinks to create complementary or contrasting flavors. Sweet fruit, honey, and wine can balance blue cheese’s saltiness and pungency.
Brie : A soft French cheese ripened primarily by a white surface mold, usually Penicillium camemberti. Its white rind and outward surface ripening contrast with blue mold inside blue cheese.
Cheese piercing : A cheesemaking technique that punctures a cheese to introduce air into its interior. Piercing supplies oxygen that lets blue mold grow through the cheese.
Gorgonzola : An Italian blue cheese made from cow’s milk, produced in two principal styles: dolce and piccante. Its sweeter and sharper styles demonstrate the range within blue cheese.
Cheesemaking : The process of turning milk into cheese through coagulation, whey removal, salting, and often ripening. Blue cheese uses the shared foundations of cheesemaking before mold ripening distinguishes it.
Salad dressing : A sauce added to salads to season and coat their ingredients. Blue cheese is a common ingredient in creamy dressings.
Camembert : A soft French cheese with a bloomy white rind, traditionally made from cow’s milk. Like blue cheese it relies on mold, but its characteristic growth is on the surface.
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