What Are The Cheeses That Are Flavored By Different Molds

Blue cheese is the most common form of cheese containing mold.

There are several types of cheese that are in one way or another flavored and ripened by mold. The most common is blue cheese, which is not only found in its most common chunk style but also in items such as salad dressings and pre-packaged macaroni and cheese kits. The second most common mold cheeses are in the Camembert family; these cheeses are ripened by a velvety white mold, which creates a greenish grey cheese rind while ripening.

Blue Cheese

To make this cheese, bread is allowed to mold. After the bread is entirely covered and filled with mold it is ground into a fine powder. The mold powder is then mixed into a form with cheese curd. Flavor can be anywhere from very mild to very odorous and pungent. Types of blue cheese include Gorgonzola, Stilton, Maytag and Roquefort, which is the most common of the blue cheeses.

Camembert Cheese (White Mold Cheese)

Camembert is a cheese family in which it is ripened by white mold.

Camembert cheese is a mold-ripened cheese in which--after the curd is formed--the cheese is ripened by Oidium Lactis first and then Penicillium Camemberti, which is a white velvety mold, develops the cheese rind in about 2 weeks. Other cheeses in this group are French Brie and Coulommiers.

Hand Cheeses

Pennsylvania pot cheese is a hand cheese ripened by Oidium lactis. A homemade cottage cheese curd is prepared and put in a covered pot and left in a warm place. It forms into semi-liquid and is covered in the slimy mold and bacteria. It is then double boiled until it is melted and smooth. Flavors such a salt are added and the cheese is then poured into mason jars. Appetitost cheese is made from heated buttermilk. After the buttermilk has boiled, the whey is removed and the curd is covered and kept in a warm place. Soon the fermentation process starts and makes the curd sticky. The curd is then kneaded and the process of fermentation starts over again and repeats until the curd is yellow and tough. Salt and optional spices are added and then the cheese is shaped.

Tags: most common, blue cheese, Camembert cheese, cheese curd, cheese rind, cheese ripened