Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined PDO Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining. Outside the EU and the countries recognizing the geographical origin protection, the name "Gorgonzola" can legally be used for similar cheeses, with only the full Italian name unambiguously referring to PDO Gorgonzola. It is a famously pungent cheese.
History
Historically, Gorgonzola has been produced for centuries in Gorgonzola, Milan, acquiring its greenish-blue marbling in the 11th century. However, the town's claim of geographical origin is disputed by other nearby localities.
For example, another possible place of origin is the well known cheese-making area known for ancient dairy traditions, Pasturo nella Valsassina. This is because of the presence of superb natural caves that stay at the perfect temperature (between 6 and 12 degrees Celsius) to make Gorgonzola and many other cheeses. Gorgonzola was supposedly created in the Middle Ages from the years 879-1007 AD.
There is a Lombardy legend of Gorgonzola’s origin where a cheese maker added new fresh curds to a vat and left it open all night. He apparently forgot about the curds because he was in a rush to meet his lover. He attempted to fix his mistake and added fresh curds to the vat and a few months later he was surprised with a new bluish mold that had grown on his cheese. He tasted this and realized the surprisingly great and unique taste of the cheese. This was also the first discovery of the process of erborinatura, the creation of mold.
Ever since the beginning of the 20th century, popularity of the cheese has been steadily increasing, more so abroad with past exports breaking the tens thousand tons per year. Exports include the UK, France, and Germany. Each country has specific types of the cheese it prefers. British people enjoy the softer white and spicy Gorgonzola, while French and Germans like blue veined strong Gorgonzola.
After World War II, the new technique called the “one-curd” processing method was introduced. This production fixed the prior problems of the production with hygiene, quality, and costs. However, during the 1970s when hundreds of cheese factories modernized like this, it caused various smaller producers to go out of business since they were not able to bear the costs of modernizing.
Production
Today, Gorgonzola is mainly produced in the northern Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. The whey is removed during curdling, and the result is aged at low temperatures.
During the ageing process, metal rods are quickly inserted and removed, creating air channels that allow the mould spores to grow into hyphae and cause the cheese's characteristic veining. Gorgonzola is typically aged for three to four months. The length of the ageing process determines the consistency of the cheese, which gets firmer as it ripens. There are two varieties of Gorgonzola, which differ mainly in their age: the less aged Gorgonzola Dolce (also called Sweet Gorgonzola), which can have a less salty taste and a slightly sweet finish, and the more aged Gorgonzola Piccante (also called Gorgonzola Naturale, Gorgonzola Montagna, or Mountain Gorgonzola).
Protected designation of origin
Under EU law, Gorgonzola has been registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO, or Denominazione di Origine Protetta (DOP) in Italy) since 1996. This means that Gorgonzola sold in the European Union can only be produced in the provinces of Novara, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Cuneo, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Pavia, Varese, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Vercelli, as well as several comuni in the area of Casale Monferrato (province of Alessandria). As a Geographical indication, Gorgonzola produced in parts of Italy is protected in certain countries based on bilateral agreements of the European Union, membership of the Lisbon Agreement or national registration as a certification mark.
Non-European Gorgonzola cheese
Over time, production of the cheese outside Europe has led to the genericization of the term "gorgonzola" in certain parts of the world, including in Australia. Gorgonzola cheese made outside of the European Union is a family of blue cheeses made from cows' milk and inspired by the original Italian cheese. Whole cow's milk is used, to which starter bacteria are added with spores of the mould Penicillium glaucum.