The best Italian Gorgonzola cheese: this is what is worth trying

Gorgonzola is a blue Italian cheese with a mold. In many people, the product is disgusted by its appearance. But the real gourmands know that this is not an expensive delicacy, which has a special taste and aroma. Such cheese can be produced only in places of its traditional production. This place is Italy. It is here that the village of the same name is located, thanks to which the product received its name several centuries ago.

The history of the appearance of gorgonzola

Gorgonzola is a hard sort of cheese, which appeared quite by accident. The predecessor of this delicacy is cheese, which is called "stekinno". In the translation from the Italian language the name means "tired". The origin of the gorgonzola proper is connected with this concept.

Around the village of Gorgonzola cows were constantly grazing, which descended from the mountains. Peasants extracted from this their own benefit: they milked cows, and then from the milk they produced cheese. As the legend says, one day a peasant was very tired and because of this he broke the order of making a dish. So that no one would notice, he decided to combine fresh milk with a cheese unprocessed dough. As a result, he received cheese with mold. The product immediately won the Italian gourmet piquancy taste and spice flavor. Modern gorgonzola - this is the same, accidentally turned, moldy cheese.

Useful properties of cheese with mold

Gorgonzola is a nutritious cheese that has a mass of useful substances. So, the qualitative product is enriched with easily assimilated fats, proteins, vitamins and other important elements for the human body.

This delicacy is an antioxidant of high efficiency, and mold increases the protective functions of the body and favorably affects the gastrointestinal tract.

Two varieties of delicacy

Gorgonzola cheese, a photo of which can be seen in the article, is of two varieties: Cremificato (Gorgonzola Dolce) and Gorgonzola Piccante.

The first variety is a tender and young cheese, sweet to taste. The product completely ripens in just two months.

Gorgonzola Piccante ripens about four months. Cheese is characterized by a rich and sharp taste, a dense consistency.

Both varieties have a white or cream-colored streak of bluish-green mold. But in a mature product the number of such veins is much larger and it is inherent crust with an appetizing reddish tone.

Cooking cheese with mold at home

Buy a real gorgonzola cheese (a recipe for home cooking is described further) can not afford every person. After all, it is expensive. But to prepare a product at home is very real, albeit long. For the recipe you need 16 liters of milk, half a teaspoon of lactic acid cultures, calcium chloride and liquid rennet, 1/8 teaspoon of mold and a little sea salt.

In a large saucepan, you need to pour half of the whole milk and in a hot water bath, heat it to 32 degrees on medium heat, stirring the liquid slowly. Then half of the lactic acid cultures are spread on the surface of the heated milk and allowed to coagulate for five minutes. At the end of this period, from top to bottom, the noise is transferred to the bottom of the culture so that the milk itself does not shake.

50 milliliters of cold water dilute calcium chloride and pour it into the milk. Again, manipulate the same movements as when adding lactic cultures. Also rennet is added and rennet leaven is added, and then the whole mixture is aged for 20 minutes. In the resulting cottage cheese at a 30 degree angle, a long blade of a cheese knife is inserted. The cleaved product must be cut into two centimetric cubes. The resulting figures are left for five minutes to separate the serum.

Then you need to stir the cottage cheese until its quantity decreases. All that remains, put in a bag of gauze and hang over the sink at night. The next day you need to spend the entire procedure described above with the remaining portion of milk. Then two norms of cottage cheese are mixed, sprinkled with mildew and salt, and the product is aged for three months in a special plastic container.

The best pizza in the world

Incredibly delicious pizza with gorgonzola and pear is produced, which requires semolina, flour, salt, gorgonzola and cream cheese, cream, olive oil, pear, sugar and yeast.

First you need to prepare the dough: in a saucepan mix dry yeast with sugar, salt and water. Then add the flour and semolina and mix the dough. Covered with a parchment parchment. While the dough will "grow", you need to peel the pears and cut them into slices. The "grown up" dough is rolled and laid out on a baking tray. Lubricate this base with a sauce of cream cheese and cream, we spread pears and gorgonzol on top. Sprinkle the raw pizza with sugar and bake for 40 minutes. The prepared dish is sprinkled with olive oil.

Delicate sauce

In addition to pizza with gorgonzola, you can prepare a wonderful cream sauce, which will provide new flavored shades of vegetables, escalopes, pastas or boiled potatoes.

The right ingredients:

• Gorgonzola - 200 grams.
• Cream 20% fat - one hundred milliliters.
• Lemon juice - two tablespoons.
• Ground black pepper and nutmeg.

Cream is heated with minimal heat, add cheese to them, mashed with a fork, then increase the fire and at its average level, the composition is kneaded for eight minutes, stirring regularly.

After eight minutes, the mixture is removed from the plate and, while stirring, add spices and juice. That's an excellent refueling to the main course is ready.