A Blue Cheese Delight: Exploring Gorgonzola's Rich, Earthy Flavor

Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese with a distinct salty, funky, creamy, and sweet flavour. It is known for its bold and mellow taste, which is slightly piquant and spicy. It is usually made of cow's milk, but in some regions, sheep and goat's milk are added, yielding a sharper flavour.

Sharp tangy saltiness

Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese with a sharp tangy saltiness that shines alone as well in soups, salads, and pizzas. It is known for its distinct salty, funky flavor and plays well with rich, sweet, and earthy flavors.

Gorgonzola is usually sorted into two flavor categories: dolce and piccante. Dolce is the sweeter, younger variety and has a softer and creamier quality. It's usually only aged a few months and has a fresher quality that allows the milk's flavors to shine. Piccante is the sharper variety — it's aged longer and develops more of that signature funk, and is hard and crumbly. It has more defined veins of blue-green mold and is slightly spicy overall.

The difference between the two types of cheese lies in the production itself, including: the blue mold culture (both are penincillium roqueforti — but two different sub-varieties), the rennet can also be different (affects the fermentation differently), the temperature during ripening is different, dolce matures at a higher temperature than piccante, the length of maturation is different: Dolce is matured for a minimum of 50 days (and max 170 days), while piccante is at least 80 days matured (if the cheese weighs over 9 kg) and max 270 days.

Gorgonzola is one of Italy's oldest cheeses, its presence dating back hundreds of years. It's usually made of cow's milk, but in some regions, sheep and goat's milk are added, yielding a sharper flavor. The curds are inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti, a strain of mold responsible for that classic blue cheese marbling.

Blue cheese has a reputation for asserting itself in a dish and sometimes even clearing out a room — you either love it or hate it. But Italy's Gorgonzola is blue cheese for blue cheese lovers and blue cheese haters. It's the perfect mixture of salty, funky, creamy, and sweet, bold enough to call attention but mellow enough to get along with others.

Sweet vinegar creamy

Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese with a sharp, tangy flavour that shines alone as well in soups, salads, and pizzas. It is known for its distinct salty, funky flavour and plays well with rich, sweet, and earthy flavours. It is usually made of cow's milk, but in some regions, sheep and goat's milk are added, yielding a sharper flavour. The curds are inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti, a strain of mold responsible for that classic blue cheese marbling.

Gorgonzola is usually sorted into two flavour categories: dolce and piccante. Dolce is the sweeter, younger variety and has a softer and creamier quality. It's usually only aged a few months and has a fresher quality that allows the milk's flavours to shine. Piccante is the sharper variety — it's aged longer and develops more of that signature funk, and is hard and crumbly. It has more defined veins of blue-green mold and is slightly spicy overall.

The difference between the two types of cheese lies in the production itself, including: the blue mold culture (both are penincillium roqueforti — but two different sub-varieties), the rennet can also be different (affects the fermentation differently), the temperature during ripening is different, dolce matures at a higher temperature than piccante, the length of maturation is different: Dolce is matured for a minimum of 50 days (and max 170 days), while piccante is at least 80 days matured (if the cheese weighs over 9 kg).

Gorgonzola has a reputation for asserting itself in a dish and sometimes even clearing out a room — you either love it or hate it. It's the perfect mixture of salty, funky, creamy, and sweet, bold enough to call attention but mellow enough to get along with others.

Some people find it to be an acquired taste, a stronger flavour. It might be a bit on an acquired taste, its a stronger flavour. I had a similar sauce on pasta the other night.

Mouldy funk spicy

Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese with a sharp, tangy flavour that shines alone as well in soups, salads, and pizzas. It is known for its distinct salty, funky flavour and plays well with rich, sweet, and earthy flavours.

Gorgonzola is usually sorted into two flavour categories: dolce and piccante. Dolce is the sweeter, younger variety and has a softer and creamier quality. It's usually only aged a few months and has a fresher quality that allows the milk's flavours to shine. Piccante is the sharper variety — it's aged longer and develops more of that signature funk, and is hard and crumbly. It has more defined veins of blue-green mold and is slightly spicy overall.

The difference between the two types of cheese lies in the production itself, including: the blue mold culture (both are penincillium roqueforti — but two different sub-varieties), the rennet can also be different (affects the fermentation differently), the temperature during ripening is different, dolce matures at a higher temperature than piccante, and the length of maturation is different: Dolce is matured for a minimum of 50 days (and max 170 days), while piccante is at least 80 days matured (if the cheese weighs over 9 kg).

The texture of gorgonzola piccante is firm, the blue mold stands out clearly, and the taste is piquant and can be quite powerful. Gorgonzola dolce on the right is far more creamy (sometimes it can be eaten with a spoon), has a paler blue marbling, and the taste is milder and a little sweeter.

Both cheeses have a slight taste of yeast, which, however, usually disappears with a longer aging.

Piquant bold mild

Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese with a sharp tangy flavour that shines alone as well in soups, salads, and pizzas. It is known for its distinct salty, funky flavour and plays well with rich, sweet, and earthy flavours.

Gorgonzola is usually sorted into two flavour categories: dolce and piccante. Dolce is the sweeter, younger variety and has a softer and creamier quality. It's usually only aged a few months and has a fresher quality that allows the milk's flavours to shine. Piccante is the sharper variety — it's aged longer and develops more of that signature funk, and is hard and crumbly. It has more defined veins of blue-green mold and is slightly spicy overall.

The difference between the two types of cheese lies in the production itself, including: the blue mold culture (both are penincillium roqueforti — but two different sub-varieties), the rennet can also be different (affects the fermentation differently), the temperature during ripening is different, dolce matures at a higher temperature than piccante, the length of maturation is different: Dolce is matured for a minimum of 50 days (and max 170 days), while piccante is at least 80 days matured (if the cheese weighs over 9 kg and max 270 days).

The texture of gorgonzola piccante is firm, the blue mold stands out clearly, and the taste is piquant and can be quite powerful. Gorgonzola dolce on the other hand is far more creamy (sometimes it can be eaten with a spoon), has a paler blue marbling, and the taste is milder and a little sweeter.

Both cheeses have a slight taste of yeast, which, however, usually disappears with a longer aging.

Sweet earthy fRESH

Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese with a sharp tangy flavour that shines alone as well in soups, salads, and pizzas. It is known for its distinct salty, funky, creamy, and sweet flavour. It is usually made of cow's milk, but in some regions, sheep and goat's milk are added, yielding a sharper flavour. The curds are inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti, a strain of mold responsible for that classic blue cheese marbling.

Gorgonzola is usually sorted into two flavour categories: dolce and piccante. Dolce is the sweeter, younger variety and has a softer and creamier quality. It's usually only aged a few months and has a fresher quality that allows the milk's flavours to shine. Piccante is the sharper variety — it's aged longer and develops more of that signature funk, and is hard and crumbly. It has more defined veins of blue-green mold and is slightly spicy overall.

The difference between the two types of cheese lies in the production itself, including: the blue mold culture (both are penincillium roqueforti — but two different sub-varieties), the rennet can also be different (affects the fermentation differently), the temperature during ripening is different, dolce matures at a higher temperature than piccante, and the length of maturation is different: Dolce is matured for a minimum of 50 days (and max 170 days), while piccante is at least 80 days matured (if the cheese weighs over 9 kg), and max 270 days.

Gorgonzola is one of Italy's oldest cheeses, its presence dating back hundreds of years. It plays well with rich, sweet, and earthy flavours. It is bold enough to call attention but mellow enough to get along with others.

Gorgonzola can actually be closer in flavour to feta than other stinky and assertive blue cheeses. It is a bit on an acquired taste, its a stronger flavour.

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