Gorgonzola Dolce DOP. One of the Best Italian Cheeses
Gorgonzola is a soft cheese made from whole pasteurized unboiled cow’s milk. It is covered with an inedible grey-pink rind that hides a soft cheese mass of white-straw colour with blue-green streaks of mold. There are two varieties of gorgonzola: sweet and savoury. They differ in the colour of the veins, the texture of the cheese, the intensity of the flavour, and the type of mold used. Spicy gorgonzola is also distinguished by its long exposure. Today we are going to describe the sweet type. Keep reading.
How was Gorgonzola first born?
According to legend, we owe the appearance of gorgonzola to the forgetfulness of a cheese maker in love. He was in such a hurry for a date that he did not wash the vat in the evening but poured fresh milk into it in the morning. The result is a new and unusual cheese. However, historians claim that the name of the cheese comes from the village of the same name on the outskirts of Milan, where this cheese was first obtained in 879. Since then, the production and consumption of this cheese have spread throughout Lombardy and Piedmont, and in 1996 the European Commission awarded this cheese the prestigious DOP category. The Consortium for the Protection of Gorgonzola stimulates its production in every possible way and is engaged in its advertising support.
The process of making Gorgonzola
As mentioned above, Gorgonzola is made from whole pasteurized cow’s milk with the addition of lactic ferments, rennet, and penicillin spores. After curdling the milk, the cheese mass is divided into heads and laid out on a wire rack so that the whey is glassed. Forms are marked on both ends. The salting phase lasts 3-4 days, after which the cheese is aged for at least 60 days. After about three weeks, the cheese is pierced with thick metal needles to provide the air needed for the Penicillium glaucum mold culture. At the end of the exposure, the molds are removed from the wooden mandrels and cut into two or more pieces, which are wrapped in corrugated foil.
Such packaging prevents unwanted shrinkage and cracking of the rind, preserving for consumers the most valuable organoleptic properties of this exquisite cheese.
Before eating, let it lie down for at least half an hour at room temperature in order to fully enjoy its taste and aroma.
Gorgonzola is used to make sauces by melting it with butter or cream. By the way, this is a good way to use this cheese if it has been a little stale in your refrigerator and its taste has become too sharp.
What to serve with Gorgonzola?
Spicy gorgonzola goes well with aged red wines, as well as pasito or marsala (which, however, goes well with sweet gorgonzola). Sweet gorgonzola is more commonly consumed with white wines and certain red wines.
Get ready to serve dinner with a new addition Gorgonzola cheese. To find one, visit the Pong Cheese website and just make your order.
WANT TO RECEIVE PERSONAL, STYLISH SUGGESTIONS TO YOUR EMAIL?
FILL OUT THE FOLLOWING FORM: