Not every Russian can even pronounce the names of other cheeses: Camembert, Gorgonzola... But if he tries it, he will never forget it. But there are others: Brie, Roquefort, Dorblue, Danablu, Stilton, Fourme d'Ambert, each with its own history.

The refined and noble taste of these cheeses is not given by the skill of the cheesemaker or the quality of the milk (although we should not forget about them either). The main reason is mold fungi!

Yeast-like fungi

Moreover, there are different types of mold. Roquefort, Gorgonzola and other cheeses of this type are infested with Penicillium, a blue mold (hence their name “blue cheeses”). And brie and others like it are infected, in the good sense of the word, with the yeast-like fungi Geotrichum candidum. But still, this is not just mold, but noble mold - one might say, Mold with a capital M. It, noble mold, protects the cheese from unwanted infection, since it, as it were, occupies the place where harmful microorganisms would like to settle.

Emperor Charlemagne, who discovered brie cheese in 774, called it “one of the most exquisite dishes.” Brie (which, by the way, is one of the oldest cheeses in the world) was considered the best gift among counts and kings. Thus, Blanche of Navarre, Countess of Champagne, had the custom of sending brie as a gift to King Philip Augustus. They call it “cheese of kings”.

Roquefort cheese, according to legend, was “invented” by a young shepherd. He was tending a flock of sheep near the village of Roquefort and in a moment of rest (they say in a cave) he was going to dine on a piece of black bread with sheep’s cheese. And a beautiful young maiden was walking past that cave about some business. The young shepherd left his breakfast and (who would doubt it!) ran after her. How long he was absent and why, history is silent, but when he returned to that cave, he discovered that the cheese was covered with blue mold. However, his hunger did not disappear anywhere, and even during his absence intensified, and he ate this cheese. And I was amazed at the wonderful taste! This is how world cuisine became enriched with Roquefort cheese.

Among the youngest cheeses, one can remember Dorblu; it was invented at the beginning of the 20th century in Germany. The recipe is kept secret. Danish blue cheese Danablu has a history of about 80 years; it was created as an analogue of Roquefort.

Hidden Recipe

Everyone knows that penicillin living in Roquefort is useful. Even before the discovery of this fact, doctors gave blue cheese to patients, hardly understanding why the patients recovered. But it's not just blue cheeses that are healthy. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, a French doctor treated seriously ill patients with Normandy cheese covered with white mold. In honor of this doctor, grateful patients erected a monument near the village of Camembert.

The history of the appearance of this cheese in the world is no less romantic than the story of the shepherd and Roquefort cheese. Monks knew the recipe for making Camembert from time immemorial, but hid it from hungry peoples, and then one of them allegedly revealed it to his girlfriend Marie Harel because she saved him from death during the French Revolution. Whether it was true or not, in 1928, in the square of the city of Vimoutier, grateful Camembert lovers solemnly unveiled a monument to Marie Harel and their favorite cheese.

And by the way, moldy cheese can enhance a person’s creative inclinations. One day, Salvador Dali, having eaten Camembert for dinner, looked at his unfinished painting and saw a “flowing clock.” This is how “The Persistence of Memory” was written. This fact is stated in the master’s memoirs.

Noble mold adds pungency to the cheese, and the longer the cheese is stored, the spicier it will be. Some cheeses have a slight hazelnut flavor, like Roquefort.
Camembert has a mushroom taste, and brie has a slight ammonia smell. It's all about the enzymes: as mold grows on the surface or inside the cheese, it releases enzymes that, when combined with the cheese, form a fusion of flavors. The yeast-like fungus Geotrichum has no taste on its own, but what a delicious taste it produces when combined with regular cow's cheese! Have you ever tried penicillin? If so, then you probably didn’t like it, but you’ll eat Roquefort for your dear soul.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to find real blue cheese these days. If, for example, Roquefort is produced according to the classic recipe (stored in a limestone cave for three months so that the necessary mold appears on it by itself), then this cheese will be in constant shortage. Therefore, such cheeses are made industrially, infecting the cheese with a pure culture of the desired fungus, and Roquefort can be bought in any store.

English note

Of the English mold cheeses, the best known is Stilton, which, unlike other cheeses of this kind, comes in both blue and white. He gained fame through the efforts of innkeeper Cooper Thornhill. This Thornhill was passing through Leicestershire in 1730, and there on a small farm he was treated to blue cheese (which was not yet called Stilton). Delighted with the taste of the product, Thornhill immediately bought the exclusive right to sell the cheese, and he sold it in his Bell tavern in the village of Stilton. Hence the name. And the stagecoach route between London and Edinburgh passed by this inn. Of course, passengers snapped up the cheese as they flew in. Soon all of England knew about the blue Steelton. What about England - all of Europe!

Cheese began to be falsified everywhere, the technology was broken, and measures were required to protect the name. Protected: now the name “Stilton” is protected by law, that is, it is prohibited to use this word for any cheese produced outside the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. The irony is that the village of Stilton, which gives the cheese its name, is located in Cambridgeshire, and Stilton cheese cannot be produced there.

Italy produces Gorgonzola blue cheese, named after a small village near Milan. Local residents claim that the recipe has been known to them for more than a thousand years. As if they had previously produced stracchino cheese (translated from Italian as “tired”) from the milk of cows tired from the long journey from the mountains. And then a certain cheesemaker, whose name has not gone down in history, once violated the technology, and his cheese ripened with mold in it. Residents were delighted and began to completely violate the technology, and at the same time the copyright of the unknown cheese maker.

So don't be afraid of moldy cheeses! History shows that no one has ever died from them, but they were used as medicine...

Cook in Russian

In Great Russia, not only blue cheese, but even ordinary hard cheeses were not made. Here the soil is poor, the winters are long, the period of livestock stabling is longer than in Europe, there is less feed, and there is no milk yield. Russian peasants often kept little cows not for milk, but for manure, as fertilizer.

They drank milk, of course, and stewed it, and made cottage cheese out of it. And Russian cheeses were ripened from cottage cheese using the “raw” method, without heating. They were pressed and seasoned, holding their shape tightly. Until now, what we bake from cottage cheese is called syrniki; Cottage cheese called “homemade cheese” is still sold in stores.

Peter I “infected” Russia with European cheeses. After him, the people ate their usual Russian cheese, and the nobles ate hard imported cheese or one made here by the Dutch. At the same time, he came up with the paradoxical word “cheese factory”: cheese comes from the word “raw”, and if it was cooked, then what kind of “raw” is it?

The first domestic cheese factory, which filled the whole country with its cheap cheese, appeared in our country at the end of the 19th century. Nikolai Vereshchagin, who managed it (by the way, the brother of the famous battle painter), formulated the task as follows: “Teach the Russian peasantry to cook cheese and churn butter in the European manner.” Well, they learned to imitate Europe, but traditional Russian cheese disappeared.

This product has long been loved by people because of its piquant taste and unusual appearance. For any gourmet, you can choose a variety of blue cheese. In addition, it brings invaluable benefits to the body.

The composition of this cheese, like any other, includes a lot of calcium, due to this, it is considered healthy. The peculiarity is that due to the mold state, calcium will be absorbed by the human body much faster. In addition, it is the most important source of protein, surpassing even fish or eggs.

The composition contains amino acids that influence muscle formation. It has been proven that a person who regularly consumes mold cheese has good skin protection from sun rays due to the production of melanin.
Serve a variety of products on a large round plate. A wide variety of varieties are laid out on it. Each type of cut has its own shape. Light cheeses are usually placed along the edges, and the most piquant types are placed in the middle. To ensure a fuller taste of the product, the cheese should stand at room temperature for about an hour before serving.

Due to the unusual taste, strong wines are usually served on the table. In addition, you can serve with bread, crackers, and fruit. In some recipes, mold cheese is placed in pasta, pizza, and also in various salads.

Cheeses with white mold

Names of cheeses with white mold:

• Bree. It is white in color, with a slightly grayish tint. It is produced in the form of a circle, with a diameter of up to 60 cm. The thickness of the product can be different, from 3 to 5 cm. The smaller the thickness, the sharper the taste will be. Young, unripe brie will have a soft texture. With the aging process, it hardens. The smell is reminiscent of ammonia, the white crust smells strongly of ammonia. But, nevertheless, all fragments are edible and safe for humans. It is this type that is recommended to be consumed when first getting acquainted with mold products;
  
• Boulette d'Aven. Of all the species, it is considered the most smelly. Not every gourmet decides to try this product. Made from soft, curd mass. At the initial stages of ripening, the cheese is kept in beer brine, then parsley, wormwood, garlic, and pepper are added. Thanks to these ingredients, such a pungent odor appears. Form into a cone, weighing 180-200g, then sprinkle generously with paprika and leave to ripen for up to 3 months. Ready cheese has a soft structure. The product is stored for no more than 30 days.
• Camembert. Soft cheese with a creamy consistency. Prepared from two types of milk, whole and skim. The process of making cheese is long and complex. For production, only the highest grade milk is required. Therefore, cows are grazed on specialized pastures before being milked. The color of the finished product can be either light cream or dark. Covered with airy, white mold. The thickness of the finished flatbread is up to 3 cm, width up to 11 cm. The sharpness of the cheese varies depending on the ripening time. It has a pronounced mushroom flavor. The product has a short shelf life, so it is often sold unripe;
  
• Cambozola. Made from premium quality milk, special starter culture, salt and cream. Using knitting needles, veins of blue mold are introduced into the inner part of the cheese, and the outer layer is covered with white mold. It has a delicate texture and a sharp, piquant taste. It was obtained experimentally, during experiments on different types of cheese. Produced in two types: fat up to 70%, low-fat up to 25%;
• Kare. French cheese, the upper part of which is covered with an edible mold crust. Its fat content is reminiscent of brie;
• Coulommier. Made from pasteurized milk, it has a delicate texture. The diameter of the cheese wheel is from 12 to 15 cm, thickness is 3-3.5 cm. On top there is a crust of white mold, sometimes with red spots. The product matures for up to 8 weeks, its hardness depends on this;
  
• Neuchatel. A variety of soft product, ripens from 3 to 4 months. The longer the aging occurs, the softer the product will be. In cross section it has a light yellow color. The upper part is covered with a white cap of mold. The peculiarity of the species is that it is produced in completely different forms, the most common form being the heart;
• Pont-Leveque. Refers to the variety with the most pungent odor. This happens by soaking the finished product in brine. It has a square shape. It is made in 2 types: homemade - from unpasteurized milk, factory - from pasteurized milk. Homemade cheese can only be found on the shelves in Normandy. The ripening process lasts up to 5-6 weeks;
  
• Rouzette. One of the types of brine, mold cheese. During the cooking process, it is washed 5 times. It has a sharp ammonia smell, the crust is slightly pinkish in color, due to the content of paprika;
• Shawrs. It looks like a small, square head covered with an airy cap of white mold. The taste resembles mushrooms or hazelnuts. The texture is creamy and delicate. Ripens up to 3 weeks.
  

Blue cheeses

Names of blue cheeses:

Cheeses with red mold

Types of cheeses with red mold:

Cheeses with green mold

Names of cheeses with green mold:

How to choose quality mold cheese: a quick guide

Rules to follow when choosing blue cheese:

1. There are no openings on blue cheeses that are too wide, otherwise it will be a spoiled product. Blue mold should not fill a large number of channels;
2. The cheese should retain its shape, while being slightly loose and moist;
3. It is necessary to carefully examine the composition of the cheese; penicillin and salt are usually used for ripening. There should not be any artificial colors present;
4. Fresh cheese has the smell of penicillin, a snow-white crust, and traces of the grill on which it matured may be visible;
5. The product should melt in your mouth like butter. If there is a hardened layer around the edges, this is a sign that it has been stored for too long;
6. The shelf life of any cheese should not exceed 2 months;
7. The presence of a huge number of holes in the cheese indicates a low-quality manufacturer;
8. Brine cheese should not have a loose appearance;
9. The cheese must be packaged in special wax paper. This is done to stop the maturation and growth of mold;
10. It is easy to determine the presence of palm oil in a product if you press lightly on it. The outer structure of the bar must be elastic.

Many manufacturers of mold cheese varieties have been famous for centuries.

Such a product can decorate any holiday table, especially if you combine different varieties on one dish. In addition, high-quality cheese brings great benefits to the body, especially for those who play sports. The most important thing is to follow the instructions when choosing a product.

And in addition - an interesting video about how blue cheese is made.

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Blue cheese is an aristocratic product, for the production of which domesticated species of spores Penicillium camamber (white mold) or Penicillium roqueforti (blue mold) are used. There is also an orange one, which is obtained by washing with white sea water or wine.

Mold cheeses have an unusual delicate taste. The range of this product is limited on the Russian market due to its high price. The most common blues are the German Dor Blue, the Italian Gorgonzola, the British Stilton, and the French Roquefort. White mold cheeses Camembert and Brie are popular.

Is blue and white mold cheese healthy? Should it be included in a family or personal diet?

How to choose a good product

High-quality blue cheese should only be purchased from stores or supermarkets that you trust. Blue varieties should be visible in cross-section.

Cheeses with white mold are sold in small packages. How to evaluate a product:

• Smell. The product with blue mold smells sharp and strong, with a mushroom undertone. With white - it has a weak, delicate, barely perceptible mushroom aroma with a mossy aftertaste.

  A pungent ammonia smell means improper storage conditions or an expired shelf life - it should not exceed two months.

• Composition, which should include only milk (fresh or sour), enzymes for cheese production, penicillin bacteria, salt. The presence of dyes, preservatives, and food additives means that the product is fake.
• Taste. It should be clean, leaving a pleasant aftertaste after tasting. A high-quality product melts in your mouth, has a delicate texture without dry or hard inclusions.
• When cut, the cheese mass should be continuous, no holes. The latter mean a gross violation of production technology.
• High-quality cheese is elastic, a little springy.

Assess the quality of the mold. White looks like a delicate white fluff or crust covering the surface of the cheese mass. The inside of this product remains white. The exception is Brie Noir, which is pink in color, but it is unlikely to be found on the shelves in Russia.

Blue varieties have marbled blue or turquoise inclusions throughout the cut. Continuous mold throughout the cheese mass means the product is quite old. Eating it is not recommended.

Composition, calorie content per 100 g, nutritional value, glycemic index

Most cheeses, including mold cheeses, are made from full-fat cow's milk. Homemade - from whole, and industrial - from boiled. A number of elite blue cheese aristocrats with a piquant taste are made from. For example, Tanguy, Picadon, Chabichou du Poitou. From sheep - Roquefort.

Nutritional value depends on the fat content and quality of the source milk. Determined that the average calorie content is approximately 350 kcal/100 g.

All blue cheeses contain:

• milk fat - 30 g/100 g;
• proteins - 20 g/100 g.

There are no carbohydrates in the product. The glycemic index is zero. All types of blue cheese delicacies can be safely enjoyed by people suffering from.

Essential amino acids:

• valine;
• arginine;
• histidine;
• tryptophan.

These substances are not synthesized by the human body. They must be supplied with food. Valine, histidine in combination with milk fat have a strong regenerating effect, rejuvenate body tissues.

Histidine and tryptophan are involved in the synthesis of the hormone serotonin, without which a person’s emotional life becomes dull.

The cheese elite is distinguished by a high content of microelements. These are (530 g/100g) and (390 mg/100g). They are completely digestible, since the product contains another magical compound - lecithin, which balances the nervous system and has a beneficial effect on digestion.

Considering It contains penicillin, which produces mold. Blue cheeses contain small amounts of vitamins. The most valuable of them is K, which thins the blood and has a wound-healing effect.

On the pages of our website you will also learn a lot of interesting things about the rules for choosing a product.

Health Benefits

Thanks to penicillin, all mold aristocrats have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Cheeses are very healthy, but thanks to cultivated fungi they acquire the following beneficial properties:

• activate calcium absorption;
• promote the synthesis of melanin in the skin. This helps neutralize the harmful effects of sunlight.
• normalize intestinal function, preventing flatulence, dysbacteriosis;
• restore hormonal balance, improve the psycho-emotional state due to the increased production of glucocorticoids secreted by the adrenal glands;
• promote rapid healing of wounds, thanks to amino acids - valine and histidine;
• have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart muscle, improve the condition of blood vessels. Vitamin K and substances released by sprouted mold spores prevent the formation of blood clots and activate blood flow.

For good health, the daily intake of cheese should not exceed 50 g.

Features of the impact on health

Blue cheese is especially useful for people suffering from lactose intolerance. These products do not contain it. But there is milk fat in combination with lecithin and essential amino acids, which have a strong tonic and tissue-restoring effect.

Benefits for adult men and women

Elite varieties, in addition to easily digestible calcium and milk fat, also contain protein, which is necessary for the health of muscles and connective tissues.

Varieties with white mold are rich in conjugated fatty acids, which have antitumor properties.

The product is useful for women in preparing for pregnancy when the body needs to create reserves of calcium and phosphorus.

Daily moderate consumption of mold cheese alleviates premenstrual syndrome and prevents the development of depression.

Men need these products during high physical and mental stress.. Tryptophan will give you inspiration, and lecithin will prevent creative burnout.

Thanks to its high nutritional value and distinct piquant taste, a small amount of cheese creates a feeling of fullness and comfort without burdening the stomach.

Excessive consumption of blue cheeses may result in weight gain due to their high calorie content. Headaches may also appear as a reaction of the body to an excess amount of cheese fungi.

During pregnancy, during lactation

During this important time for women, it is forbidden to eat blue cheese.. Cheese dough is a favorable environment for the proliferation of listeria. These pathogens can cause listeriosis to develop in a pregnant or lactating woman.

With normal immunity, this disease can be successfully ignored. But during pregnancy and lactation, listeriosis can be accompanied by high fever, fever, and vomiting.

Is it harmful to children's health?

It is better to offer regular cheeses to children under 12 years of age. Consumption of mold varieties by children threatens the development of listeriosis. This disease can slow down the physical and intellectual development of a child and weaken his immunity.

Listeria and its effect on the human body have not yet been studied enough. Therefore, there is no guarantee that a baby who is infected will receive adequate treatment. After 12 years, you can begin to accustom your child to elite cheeses to form healthy eating habits.

It's better to start with Brie. It has a delicate consistency and a faint aroma of champignons.

In old age

In adulthood, blue cheeses are very healthy. These products, when consumed in moderation, successfully resist the following diseases:

• heart failure;
• osteoporosis;
• atherosclerosis;
• age-related depression.

They also improve memory and activate mental activity.

Potential dangers and contraindications

The main danger of mold cheeses is individual intolerance to penicillin and infection with listeria with low immunity. You should also not eat cheese if you have the following diseases:

• fungal, including thrush;
• arthritis, polyarthritis;
• asthma, neurodermatitis.

You should use the product very carefully if you are obese or prone to swelling due to high salt content, especially in varieties with blue mold.

You can learn a few more interesting facts about the benefits and potential harms of blue and white mold cheese from the following video:

The product is best eaten in the evening, since calcium is absorbed by the body at night.

Optimal amount - 30 g, but not more than 50 g for daily use. Traditionally, all elite varieties can be eaten with bread, but without butter. The exception is Roquefort.

White mold cheeses such as Brie or Camembert go well with soft white bread, and blue varieties are usually eaten with crispbread.

All products go well with fruits, especially grapes. The best friends of these aristocrats are dry and semi-dry wines.

Dry cheeses are served with white mold cheeses. The piquant, pungent taste of blue mold cheeses is perfectly emphasized by white semi-dry wines.

Use in cooking Brie, Roquefort, Dor Blue and other varieties

Blue cheese is served at the end of dinner or late lunch, as an independent dish or as part of a cheese plate. Spicy varieties are used in preparing spaghetti sauces. The product with blue mold can be grated and sprinkled on vegetable salad.

Making sandwiches is common. For example:

• Grind Roquefort with butter, spread on warm white bread toast, cutting off the crusts first.
• Mix brie with. You can spread this mixture on thin Armenian lavash, roll it into a tube and leave it in the refrigerator for a day. Then cut diagonally. Serve with grape juice or any dry wine.
• Cut the Conference pear into slices, put a piece of Dor Blue on top of each.

All products go well with thin dessert pancakes and black.

From this video you will learn a recipe for preparing a delicious and light salad from the chef using blue cheese:

These products provide an unforgettable taste experience, good mood, quickly create a feeling of satiety.

For those wishing to lose weight, these cheeses are useful with fruits and vegetables. This combination will allow all beneficial substances to be fully absorbed without gaining excess weight.

When purchasing elite blue cheese, take care of its proper storage. To do this, it is advisable to purchase a special cheesecake, which along with the product should be kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of 5-7 degrees.

In contact with

Mold, just like bread and wine, is an indispensable attribute of a feast in these countries. But this product appeared here not so long ago, but is already very popular among gourmets.

Blue cheese

The benefits and harms of this product are still being discussed. But before you understand this issue, you should carefully study this exotic product for us. There are different types of this cheese, which contain different molds. The first variety includes a product covered with a white coating on top. This is the largest group. White mold forms when cheeses are placed in cellars. Their walls are covered with penicillin fungi.

The next variety is characterized by a greenish-blue mold contained inside the product. These are Fourme d'Ambert and Roquefort cheeses. During the production of such a product, mold is added to the curd mass using special tubes.

There is another variety of these cheeses. It is similar to the first one, but only differs in the color of the mold, which is not white, but red.

The benefits of which can be obtained by consuming it in quantities not exceeding fifty grams per day, should not be included in your diet in large quantities. Nutritionists do not recommend this for people who are prone to weight gain. In addition, eating mold may not be so harmless. The stomach does not process it in large quantities, which contributes to the occurrence of unwanted problems associated with intestinal microflora.

Blue cheese, the benefits of which will certainly be obtained if consumed wisely, contains a large amount of calcium. This element in this product is maximally absorbed by the body due to the presence of a noble fungus.

Blue cheese, the benefit of which also lies in the content of the amount of phosphorus salts and many vitamins necessary for our body, promotes the dissolution of fats. The protein in this product is rich in amino acids that build our muscles.

Blue cheese, the benefit of which also lies in promoting the production of melanin, performs this important function thanks to microelements that accumulate under the human skin. This influence is necessary for normal human life.

Mold serves as a natural source of the antibiotic penicillin. In our body, this substance destroys staphylococci and bacteria, streptococci, as well as pathogens and diphtheria. Blue cheese normalizes the functioning of the intestines, since penicillin has a beneficial effect on microflora.

Eating blue cheese helps raise hemoglobin levels in the blood. This is possible due to the presence of the essential amino acid histidine in the product. It is important for the synthesis of white and red blood cells. Histidine helps improve the secretion of gastric juice and produces a vasodilator effect. Blue cheese contains a large amount of phosphorus. Many varieties of fish cannot boast of such a volume of this element. Phosphorus is essential for bones and nails, as well as teeth. It serves as a preventive measure to prevent development, improves metabolism, the functioning of the heart and nervous system.