Milk: pasteurized or raw cow's, goat's or sheep's milk
Country: countries throughout the world
Family: Blue
Kind: semi-soft, blue-veined
Texture: creamy
Color: blue
Flavor: salty, sharp, tangy
Aroma: stinky, strong
Synonyms: Erborinato, Bleu cheese , Blue cheese
Description: Blue Vein cheeses also called Blue cheese is a generic term used to describe cheese produced with cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk and ripened with cultures of the mould Penicillium. The final product is characterized by green, grey, blue or black veins or spots of mould throughout the body. These veins are created during the production stage when cheese is 'spiked' with stainless steel rods to let oxygen circulate and encourage the growth of the mould. This process also softens the texture and develops a distinctive blue flavor. The origin of Blue cheese has an interesting story. It is thought to have been invented by accident when a drunken cheesemaker left behind a half-eaten loaf of bread in moist cheese caves. When he returned back, he discovered that the mould covering the bread had transformed it into a blue cheese. Blue cheese is also identified by a peculiar smell that comes from cultivated bacteria. The flavor of the cheese depends on the type of blue cheese, shape, size, the climate of the curing and ageing period. But it generally tends to be sharp and salty. Some of the famous blue cheese around the world are Roquefort from France, Gorgonzola from Italy and Stilton from England. Blue cheese tastes best when served with crackers, pears, raisins, fruit bread and walnuts. Crumble the cheese and melt it into sour cream, plain yoghurt or mayonnaise as a dressing.