Blue cheeses: once known as green cheeses.

In the Eighties and Nineties, we used to call them green cheeses. Do you remember? Today, with the growth of gastronomic culture and the formation of an awareness of the value of food quality, we talk about blue cheeses. This last term encompasses a whole range of products from different origins that are united by a strongly identifying processing technique.

Let’s start with the term “blueing,” which has a very important value in the dairy field. It is a biochemical-bacteriological and technological-food process that involves the natural formation or the inoculation of mold spores belonging to the species Penicillium roqueforti within the mass of milk during cheesemaking or directly in the already formed curd using dedicated needle-like instruments. In Italy, the quintessential blue cheese is the Gorgonzola DOP in its two varieties: sweet and spicy. In France, the main interpreter is the Roquefort. In England, it is Blue Stilton. From these, which have certainly been the precursors, many other cheeses have emerged that have conquered the market and consumers.

Today, blueing has become a trend and a technique to enhance otherwise neutral cheeses. It is important to keep in mind that we can only speak of blue cheese if it undergoes a fermentation and a growth of the previously described species of molds; otherwise, there are other types of green cheeses (which cannot be defined as blue) that, thanks to the addition of specific green leaves like sage, are “colored” by chlorophyll. For example, the English Derby marbled cheese.

What happens when the mold spores hatch and begin to proliferate in the mass of milk or directly in the curd that composes the final form of blue cheese? Penicillium glaucum and Penicillium roqueforti have the ability to transform calcium paracaseinate molecules and act on the protein and lipid macromolecules of milk, making them shorter. What does this mean? Proteins, for example, are broken down into amino acids, and subsequently, small quantities of soluble nitrogen compounds can even be produced, which, mixed with other aromas produced by lactic bacteria and secondary enterococci, give the characteristic blue aroma.

These molds also have the ability to dehydrate the cheese and, at the surface level, produce a crust that thickens and wrinkles with aging. The first blueing processes were natural and due to the presence of these types of molds on the rock walls of caves. It is believed that Gorgonzola DOP is the oldest known blue cheese, even though, in fact, the characteristic formation of greenish veins is posthumous. Initially, the formation of molds mainly affected the surface.

Penicillium roqueforti, on the other hand, takes its name from the ancient French blue cheese, as it was isolated specifically in those white stone caves, the famous chalk that approaches the prestigious limestone plateaus of the great Bordeaux vineyards. In Gorgonzola, the origin of the milk is cow, while in Roquefort, it is mainly sheep. This gives rise to decidedly different tactile sensations and aromas. More richness and roundness for Roquefort, more spiciness and compactness in the natural Gorgonzola, which we call, indeed, spicy.

Today, blue cheeses are also referred to by the names bleu or blu, and this name is used primarily for goat cheeses. For example, the bleu di Montegalda in Italy has achieved great success in recent years.

Oh, don’t forget that another great natural blue cheese is the Castelmagno DOP, which in its more aged and prestigious forms features veins due to the proliferation of these Penicillium molds in the caves. These are rare shapes, the most expensive. This is not a defect at all! It is an enhancement recognized by the old shepherds and cheesemakers of the Valle Grana in Piedmont. 

Spaghetti & Mandolino offers a very wide selection of blue cheeses from all over the national territory, obtained from dairies and small alpine realities, as well as from internationally renowned expert refiners. Some of these blue cheeses have received awards and recognition even from the most luxurious fashion chains such as Harrod’s and Maci’s, which have included the extraordinary Blu 61 from La Casearia Carpenedo in their displays. In short, blue cheeses remain today an object of pleasure and exploration for all cheese lovers. For their creaminess, intriguing aromas, intensity of flavor, and the possibility to refine them with natural components such as fruits, vegetables, and spices, blue cheeses represent the most unique range among all cheeses.

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M