Who's asking: An anonymous Google searcher from somewhere in North America
Mmm, blue cheese. Did you know that blue cheese provides the distinctive flavor of Cheetos® and other delicious puffed cheese snacks? Well, it does. (Which begs the next question: why, then, are cheese puffs orange and not blue-gray? Then again, would you eat a blue-gray snack food? Possibly not.)
Anyway, "blue cheese" is a descriptive phrase that encompasses dozens of different cow's, sheep's or goat's milk cheeses that are made with the Penicillium mold. (Next question: does blue cheese have antibiotic properties? I'm still researching this one, but Civil War surgeons did pack wounds with moldy bread.)
Gorgonzola is one of the oldest of the blue cheeses, dating back to at least the ninth century. Food historians say the distinctive blue mold on Gorgonzola developed accidentally around the 11th century, but was deliberately cultivated after that. (Gorgonzola was, at the time, a village near Milan; now it is part of the Milanese suburbs.)
Most blue cheeses are named after their places of origin: Maytag Blue comes from Iowa, Roquefort and Bleu de Bresse come from France, Stilton and Double Gloucester come from England, and so on.
One food website I found suggested having a blue-cheese tasting party, with port wine and burgundy as accompaniments. This sounds like a great idea to me... we're supposed to get an ice storm tomorrow night, so maybe I'll just stock up for a party of my own. You're welcome to stop by if you can get here.
6 comments:
It's freezing in LA. I was thinking of fondue for dinner but now you've given me a blue cheese craving. A tasting party sounds like a great idea!!
-Kathleen
That explains why I've gotten so many searches for "last time it snowed in L.A." in the last couple of days! Is it supposed to snow there?
Come on, they are only calling for 6 inches. I find that I don't like the combination of wine and cheese (maybe chardonnay and Mont jack or Pinot and gouda) but they are usually 2 strong tastes that in my book don't jive.
Beer and ale always goes with cheese. Some day I may tell you my funny blue cheese dressing story
I was eating gorgonzola with whole wheat spaghetti & olive oil yesterday & thought, is this thesame as bleu cheese crumbles I buy. Then I wondered again today when we had hot wings for lunch to which I added gorgonzola to my plate.
So with question in mind, I googled, & here I am quite happy with your informative responses!
xoxo
Maria
install a share button, makes it easier to post your blog for others to see... beyond the blog community
The share button is in the Blogger toolbar at the very top of the page. Click "More" for a drop-down menu that lets you share via Facebook and Twitter, among other places.
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