In the outskirts of the town of Cameri, you can find a dairy named “Latteria Di Camera”, which I visit in order to learn the making of the Gorgonzola cheese; certainly, one of Italy’s most famous cheese.
Gorgonzola cheese is a blue mold cheese made from cow’s milk. The cheese is produced mainly in North Italy, in the Lombardy and in Piedmont regions.
During the production a blue mold develops slowly within the cheese. Mold needs air to develop
so we perforate the cheese with a spike to make air channels inside the cheese.
The air penetrates the cheese and molds develops in the channels. The production process is somewhat similar to making the French Roquefort cheese.
Cheese unit size is about 12 kg, the ripening time is at least six months at a temperature of 12 degrees.
The cheese has a version called Dolce – sweeter, with less mold inside and a milkier taste.
The dolce is kept at a lower temperature, so the mold develops more moderately.
The cheese is suitable for platter-serving, salads that contain sweet fruits such as pear, pasta sauces – just mix with sweet cream or cream fresh and add to fish or pasta.
I’ll add the Gorgonzola in the future to my cheese selection.
Have a nice and pleasant weekend, Hanan.