This solution is first incubated for three to four days at 21–25 ☌ (70–77 ☏). This mixture is then inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti. Salt, sugar or both are added to autoclaved, homogenized milk via a sterile solution. This retains the value of the culture and is activated upon the addition of water. Through the freeze drying process, water from the frozen state is evaporated without the transition through the liquid state ( sublimation). First, Penicillium roqueforti is washed from a pure culture agar plants which is later frozen. Although Penicillium roqueforti can be found naturally, cheese producers nowadays use commercially manufactured Penicillium roqueforti. However, all methods involve the use of a freeze-dried Penicillium roqueforti culture. Multiple methods can be used to achieve this. In the first phase of production, a Penicillium roqueforti inoculum is prepared prior to the actual production of blue cheese. To begin with, the commercial scale production of blue cheese consists of two phases: the culturing of suitable spore-rich inocula and fermentation for maximum, typical flavor. However, additional ingredients and processes are required to give this blue-veined cheese its particular properties. Similarly to other varieties of cheese, the process of making blue cheese consists of six standard steps. Many varieties of blue cheese originated subsequently, such as the 20th century Danablu and Cambozola, were an attempt to fill the demand for Roquefort-style cheeses.Ĭambozola, a German variety of blue cheese Stilton is a relatively new addition, becoming popular sometime in the early 1700s. Gorgonzola is one of the oldest known blue cheeses, having been created around AD 879, though it is said that it did not contain blue veins until around the 11th century. When he returned months later, the mold ( Penicillium roqueforti) had transformed his cheese into Roquefort.
According to legend, one of the first blue cheeses, Roquefort, was discovered when a young boy, eating bread and ewes' milk cheese, abandoned his meal in a nearby cave after seeing a beautiful girl in the distance.