For 50 years the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Gorgonzola PDO has been protecting and promoting this Italian excellence, safeguarding the designation from counterfeiting and imitation: many blue cheeses produced all over the world pass off as or imitate Gorgonzola cheese, without complying wiht the characteristics defined by the PDO production protocol.
Only milk from some provinces of Lombardy and Piedmont can be used; the milk, exclusively pasteurized full fat cow milk, is added with lactic ferments, rennet and penicillium spores. After coagulation, the curd is put in wooden moulds, about 14 kg per wheel, and then left to rest in order to drain the serum. The wheels are then turned over and branded on both sides with the ID number of the cheese factory. Afterwards, they are moved to cells, called “purgatory”, with a temperature of 18/24 °C, where the wheels are manually salted.
After about 3 weeks of ripening, in cold stores at -1 +7 °C, with 85/100% humidity, the wheels are punched with large metal needles to let the air enter in the cheese, develop the cultures inserted in the curdle and hence give birth to the unique blue-greenish and/or grey-light blue veins of Gorgonzola. When the ripening is complete (minimum 50 and maximum 150 days ripening for sweet Gorgonzola; minimum 80 and maximum 270 days ripening for spicy Gorgonzola), the cheeses are cut and each part is wrapped in foil with the unmistakable G in relief of the Consortium.
Without the cheese factory number, the Consortium mark and the silver foil in relief, the cheese is not Gorgonzola.
HOW TO STORE IT
Gorgonzola PDO is a “live” food, therefore in continuous maturation, and it is advisable to eat it within a few days of purchase and keep it in the refrigerator: if you are afraid of its characteristic aroma, simply remove the rind and wrap the Gorgonzola in aluminium foil or keep it in the package to preserve freshness.
