Hello!
Today we will go with you to Italy to see how the famous Italian Gorgonzola cheese is
made.
This is one of the most famous Italian cheeses, characterized by a characteristic spicy taste.
The birthplace of cheese is Lombardy.
The main production of cheese is concentrated in the vicinity of Milan, Novara, Como, Pavia.
The Gorgonzola trademark has been protected since 1970 by a consortium based in Novara,
in the Piedmont region.
This consortium of 35 dairies only accepts milk for production from cattle farms in 16
provinces, distributed between Lombardy and Piedmont.
Only this milk can become a real Gorgonzola.
The Gorgonzola industry is worth over $800 million.
Nearly 5 million cheese circles are produced annually.
Their production is limited only to this small area.
Gorgonzola cheese has a long history and is made today using the same ingredients and
methods used decades ago.
Even machines like this one used to stir curds are designed to replicate human movements
as gently and as accurately as possible.
Such a beautiful marble pattern in cheese is created by the fungus Penicillium roqueforti.
It is used to ripen cheese.
Actually, that is why Gorgonzola is called blue cheese.
Cheese can be either soft and creamy or hard and spicy depending on how long it has been
aged.
The first is called "Dolce" (creamy) and the second "Piccante" (spicy).
These two varieties are easy to distinguish from each other in appearance.
Their vein colors are different.
Cream cheese is blue and spicy is green.
The difference in the color of the cheeses is quite obvious.
Due to the high content of minerals and vitamins, it is easily digestible and does not contain
gluten and lactose.
Its taste and aroma also pleasantly stimulate the digestion of fats and proteins.
Gorgonzola, and all blue cheeses in general, are special cheeses because they are neither
soft nor hard.
The blue mold adds a special flavor to them.
The production of gorgonzola is very ancient and is associated with a small town near Milan,
in the Lombardy region, which bears the same name as the cheese.
The area is known for its many natural caves, which are said to have been traditionally
used to age the local cheese.
Over time, producers moved to the Po Valley, where the cheese gained wide popularity.
According to legend, a forgetful cheese maker added fresh cottage cheese to some other one
that he had prepared in advance and forgot about it.
A few days later, he discovered with great surprise that he had inadvertently invented
a very special kind of cheese, whose unusual taste is due to a special kind of mold grown
inside it.
Gorgonzola cheese is made from skimmed pasteurized cow's milk.
Milk should not contain hormones.
Fresh milk is delivered to the farm every day.
It is pasteurized for a few seconds at a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius and then quickly cooled
to destroy all microbes.
For this, specially selected milk enters small shallow vats covered with a special cloth.
With the help of a cloth, milk foam is removed, otherwise bubbles will form in the cheese.
The addition of the fungus Penicillium roqueforti to milk occurs at the very beginning of the
production process.
Mixing is carried out in a large cauldron, where various enzymes are added to the mushrooms,
including rennet, as well as yeast.
Depending on which cheese is produced, creamy or spicy, noble mold cultures differ slightly
from each other.
After about 20 minutes, the milk turns into cottage cheese, which can be poured into molds.
Once the curd is ready, the fabric stretches to allow for further drainage.
Careful processing is very important.
It is necessary that the pieces of cottage cheese are about the same size.
The resulting cottage cheese is carefully laid out on the table.
This procedure is typical for the production of Gorgonzola.
The cottage cheese on the table gets rid of moisture, whey and cools down.
To get a good cheese, it is very important that both of its parts, the outer, which has
already cooled down, and the inner, mix properly.
Here the cottage cheese is very delicate and should be treated with great care.
Therefore, the cheese maker fills round molds with different layers of soft curd.
This is the first step to making Gorgonzola.
Once the form is filled, it is covered with gauze and carefully turned over.
As the cheese hardens, the gauze is removed.
Although its removal is also a difficult process.
Each cheese circle is marked with a dairy farm identification number.
For example, here you can consider the number 60.
Such a sign protects the cheese from forgery.
From it you can always determine where the cheese is produced.
One of the most famous firms producing such cheeses is Caseificio Si Invernizzi from Novara.
Between 450 and 500 gorgonzola cheese circles are produced here daily.
To help the curds settle, the cheese circles are turned every few hours before the young
cheese is removed from the mold and transported to special underground storage facilities
where it will ripen overnight.
Then they are salted a couple of times.
At this stage, their weight is about 18 kg, but gradually the weight will decrease to
12 kg.
This will happen towards the end of the cheese making process as excess whey is released.
The warm and humid atmosphere in the maturation chamber promotes yeast activity within the
cheese.
Cheese circles with soft gorgonzola ripen for three days, and circles with hard gorgonzola
for five days.
Then the circles are again moved to a cold room, where they are pierced with long stainless
steel needles, making 100 punctures on each side.
This is done in order to allow oxygen to enter the cheese, which contributes to the formation
of characteristic blue veins in the cheese.
This is exactly the same mold that was added to the vats.
Blue mold develops along the trail left by the needle and in the open nooks and crannies
of the cheese.
At Caseificio Si Invernizzi, all Gorgonzola cheeses are pierced by machine, while some
of their own cheeses are still pierced by hand.
After this step, the cheese is left to mature in a special storage.
Its future quality largely depends on the conditions of keeping the cheese in the chamber.
Cheese circles are wrapped in belts made of thin wooden slats.
These slats provide support to the soft cheese and absorb moisture, which contributes to
the formation of a unique dry skin that develops powdery gray mold.
Unfortunately, recent changes in Italian legislation and pressure from the authorities have led
to the replacement of traditional slats with plastic belts.
After a few days, the cheeses are checked for moisture.
If necessary, the outer side of the circles is treated with saline.
This eliminates unwanted bacteria.
Gorgonzola "Dolce" was developed in the 1930s.
It is a soft, sweet and fruity cheese.
Today, Dolce is the most popular Gorgonzola variety in the world.
But the Piccante gorgonzola recipe is more complex.
Since it is an original cheese, it is made from old milk obtained from two separate milkings.
It will take more than 90 days before "Piccante" ripens.
The unique atmosphere of the vaults encourages the growth of spicy blue mold.
For comparison, Gorgonzola "Dolce" ripens in just 60 days.
When the Gorgonzola "Dolce" is ready for sale, the cheese is sent back for packing.
The dairy put on a small cheese tasting for visitors to try both of them.
The taste was amazing.
Cream cheese just melts in your mouth.
It almost doesn't feel like you're biting cheese.
Spicy cheese has a completely different taste.
It is much harder and has a more pronounced taste.
You can taste gorgonzola cheese at the annual festival.
It has been celebrated in September in Italy since 1999.
It takes place in the city of Gorgonzola, which gave the name to the product.
The town is located 18 kilometers northeast of Milan.
Numerous cheese tastings are traditionally held here during the festival.
Tourists can also try a variety of local dishes that are prepared with the addition of cheese.
So the risotto made with gorgonzola sauce is always popular.
Risotto is cooked in the largest frying pan in the world.
In addition to risotto, guests of the cheese festival will be able to try lasagna, dumplings,
panzarotti, ravioli - all this is either cooked with Gorgonzola cheese or served with cheese
sauce.
You can drink Italian dishes with red and rosé Lambrusco wines, other wines of the
region, including homemade ones.
In order to try the presented cuisine, festival guests need to buy a special GorgoPass ticket
worth 7 euros, which entitles them to taste any two dishes offered at the gastronomic
stands.
At the festival of cheese "Gorgonzola" tourists are waiting not only for tasting.
They get acquainted with ancient crafts and can buy a traditional souvenir, exhibitions
and concerts are
also held here.
There are special performances for children.
That's all.
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