Cheeselog

In our cheese classes, I often speak of the magic and wonderment of blue cheese. The blue mold, mixed into the milk or curd before pressing, proliferates throughout the cheese (often assisted by piercing the cheese with steel needles). However, what many people don’t realize is that the “blue” part of blue cheese is really not very blue until it is exposed to a flush of oxygen when it is cut. This morning, we were able to capture this phenomenon. The first photo is a piece of Maytag Blue after just being cut in half. Notice the veins are yellowy-green.

A mere 10 minutes later, the same piece of cheese has exploded in color. Its mold, once lying sort-of-dormant, is now a sea of blues and grays. Even more color will develop as more time passes.

Amazing what a breath of fresh air can do!