Blue mold cheese

Blue mold cheese is characterized by the characteristic blue-green marbling and the sharp, aromatic taste. The color comes from the mold Penicillium roqueforti, which unlike other types of mold can grow inside the cheese. To provoke these years of blue mold, the cheese is poked with a tool that creates air channels.

You may recognize Blåmuggen's name from one of the most famous blue cheeses in the world, the sheep's milk cheese Roquefort. In traditional mass production of Roquefort, the blue mold was pureed in rye bread. Today, most blue cheese producers buy pure blue cheese grown in laboratories.

Norwegian Roquefort was produced in Norway as early as the 1920s. The name did not go down well with the French, as the Norwegians used milk from cows instead of sheep. However, they did not get their way until 1934, when the cheese changed its name to Normanna. This cheese was an important export product until the EC referendum in 1972.

Today, a number of good Norwegian blue cheeses are made in Norway, both industrially and at various farm cheeseries. Many of us remember the day when Kraftkar, Tingvollost's pride, went and was named the winner of the World Cheese Award in 2016! There are also good unpasteurized cheeses, for example Råblå from Grindal Ysteri. If you want to try a blue cheese made from both cow's and goat's milk, Godbiten from Snertingdal Ysteri is an exciting alternative.