If you're a screaming fan of flavor like we are, allow us to introduce you to blue cheese mold. This funky fungus has been injecting jolts of flavor into cheese for centuries. Blue cheese mold is the ingredient that rocks the roquefort, cranks up the cabrales, and makes cheese lovers everywhere go gaga for gorgonzola.
Here in Wisconsin, we've got blue cheese mold down cold. Our cheesemakers have been perfecting their blue cheese recipes for more than 180 years. Today, they deliver award-winning blues that run from mild and earthy to sharp and pungent. We're always looking for ways to spice up our salads, steaks, and pastas with a little blue funk. And when blue cheese mold is on the meal ticket, we'll wait in line for days.
The strong, powerful taste of blue cheese mold makes food and beverage pairing a little more fun. Blues need buddies with strong flavor profiles that will complement the sharp, peppery pungency of blue cheese.
For beers, that means fruit beers, stouts, weiss beer, porter and Belgian ales. If it's wine you're wanting, try complex reds like cabernet sauvignon, malbec, zinfandel, chianti, and syrah/shiraz. With whites, stick to off-dry Rieslings; avoid anything dry that you'd normally serve with seafood. And for the stronger stuff, port and madeira are the classics but tequila reposado or tequila aƱejo are equally fine.
On gourmet cheese platters, you can pair blue cheese mold varieties with fresh figs, onion chutneys, honey, dried fruits, walnuts, fresh figs, and pear and apple slices. A homemade blue cheese dressing will knock the socks off any salad. You can crumble blue cheese on pasta or mashed potatoes, slather it on roasted meats, or sprinkle it on burgers straight off the grill.
Blue cheese mold is the fungus that's used to make blue cheese and includes one type of mold: Penicillium roqueforti.
During the cheesemaking process, blue cheese mold is injected into or mixed in with the curd. After the cheese is formed into wheels, it's pierced with spikes that allow oxygen to flow through the interior of the wheel, enabling the mold to flourish.
There are many types of blue cheese made with the Penicillium roqueforti blue cheese molds. Roquefort is a sheep's milk blue produced in France. Gorgonzola is an Italian soft blue cheese made from cow's milk and has a soft, buttery, and creamy texture. Stilton, an English blue with a firmer texture, is ideal for recipes that call for blue cheese crumbles. Danablu is a Danish blue, while cabrales is a Spanish blue cheese.
Yes. The blue cheese molds - Penicillium roqueforti - is safe for human consumption. It does not produce the same toxins as dangerous molds. Rather, it can be quite healthy, with natural antibacterial properties and the ability to over-take pathogens.
Get Pairing Ideas, Cheese Recipes, Cheese Facts, Wisconsin Cheese Awards delivered straight to your inbox.
We may not be the birthplace of the blues, but we're happy to say that blue cheese mold calls Wisconsin home today. Our 1200 cheesemakers turn out an incredible amount of blue cheese varieties – from cheddar blue and gorgonzola to Dunbarton Blue, marbled blue jack and a quintuple cream blue cheese called The Blue Jay.
And we've won our share of gold medals for our blue beauties. Of course, making award-winning cheeses is nothing new in Wisconsin – we've won more cheese awards than any state in the nation or country in the world. That's what happens when a whole state is dedicated to doing one thing extremely well: making the tastiest, highest-quality cheese in the universe.
So, next time you're feeling kind of blue, look for the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese badge on the blue cheese at the grocer. That's when you know you've got a bit of blue heaven in your hands.
Craving award-winning aged cheddar, pining for parmesan, or searching for a new cheese to try? The world’s best cheese is just a click away! Explore our directory of Wisconsin cheesemakers and retailers who offer online cheese shopping and get cheese shipped right to your door. What are you waiting for?
Check out the world’s largest cheese platform.
View our Current Issue
Cheese
Recipes
Search
More