Gorgonzola is the god of cheeses

I've decided to do something new with this post. I was just going to write about this meal that I made, but I got caught up in one of the main ingredients, Gorgonzola cheese. Before I knew it, I had written a veritable ode to its sharp, cheesy goodness and I realized it was far too much to squeeze into one post with a whole recipe. And thus is born the "Flavor Profile" style of post in which I extol the virtues of my favorite ingredients.

One thing you will quickly discover is that cheese is a major food group in my diet. If the food pyramid was still around, cheese would single-handedly fill that gigantic bottom chunk that was dedicated to carbs before we figured out that carbs don't actually do much for you.

Last semester I studied abroad in Italy, and what I honestly miss the most about it was the tiny family owned mini market across the street from my apartment. I know you're staring at your computer screen shaking your head and going "Yeah sure, you liar. What about the fashion and the coffee and the traveling and the clubs and the Italian men and the three euro wine?" But truly, that little market was my home away from home. They had the most incredible fresh baked bread and deli meats and cheeses. They just don't make meat and cheese like that in the US.

At least twice a week I would buy another huge hunk of some new type of cheese. Half the time I didn't even recognize the name of whatever I bought, I would just point and say "vorrei <butcher Italian name of cheese> per favore." Then there would be this hilarious little run where the deli guy would laugh at me and mime where to cut off a piece and I would say "piu" or "meno" (a huge grammatical error, but clear enough in the execution) until I felt there was enough to feed my inner cheese monster without buying out the shop.

So where is this very long winded story going? Gorgonzola. My Italian boyfriend and one true forever love.

This image is from Wikipedia. I believe you're allowed to use their pictures, but I figured I should give them a shout out just in case. 

Of course, I didn't live under a culinary rock before I went to Italy, so I'd had Gorgonzola before, but like I said, they just don't make cheese like that in the US. Also, I'd only ever had it in prepared dishes, rather than tasting it alone. Such a big difference.

If you've never had Gorgonzola, or don't know if you have, it's a type of blue cheese that originated in northern Italy. Several towns claim to be the true creators, but as it bears it's name, I'm putting my money on Gorganzola, Milan.

Although it is unlikely anyone really knows how the cheese originated, I like this story best:

"One evening, a love-struck casaro, or cheesemaker, rushed out to meet his girlfriend without finishing his work. The following morning, fearing he might lose his job if it was discovered he had thrown out the previous day's batch of unfinished cheese curd, he surreptitiously dumped it in with the new milk supply.

This set in motion a process that produced a greenish-blue-veined curd with a strang look and a pungent oder - sometimes compared to smelly socks by detractors - and Gorgonzola cheese was born." -Rebecca Helm-Ropelato, The birthplace of Gorgonzola. Maybe. www.csmonitor.com/2005/0202/p11s02-lifo.html


Now you have a fun story to tell the next bitter, dramatic person who asks you what good love is.

Similar cheeses are the French's Roquefort (of which I am also a fan) and the English's Stilton. All three have protected designation of origin, meaning that only cheeses actually created in that region may bear that name. However that only applies within certain areas--in this case the EU. (Does this concept sound familiar? That's because vidalia onions have the same protection in the US, which I mentioned in my summer salad post)

It's a cow cheese if you're squeamish about other dairy sources (a goat cheese post will surely surface some day in the future). Though I've never understood being squeamish about cheese seeing as the whole point of it is to take milk and let it spoil. In this case, to the point of growing blue mold. If you didn't know cheese was bad milk, I'm sorry for the spoiler, but like Santa Claus, sometimes you just have to man up and accept it.

Because most people aren't huge fans of the really strong blue cheese flavor (I am, but I've always been a bit off) it's usually cooked into something such as a risotto, or with other cheeses, such as in a lasagna, on a pizza or mixed into a pasta dish. While I love Gorgonzola in all of those cases, I think it's best on some crackers with some fruit.

Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Cheese Talk