Gorgonzola

gorgonzola which it is reasonable to count as one of the three great blue cheeses of the world (the others being stilton and roquefort), takes its name from the village of Gorgonzola near Milan, where it was first made.

It belongs to the stracchino family of cheeses, which is to say that it is a whole milk, white, ‘uncooked’ cheese. It may properly be called stracchino di Gorgonzola or stracchino verde (green stracchino). The blue (or greenish) veins which distinguish it are produced by a Penicillium mould. The cheeses were traditionally ripened in cold, draughty caves near Gorgonzola for a full year. Modern methods of manufacture are quicker, but Gorgonzola remains an expensive product.