Gorgonzola cheese with noble mold. How it is made, energy value and chemical composition. The benefits and harms of a gourmet product, recipes. The history of the variety.
Gorgonzola is an Italian blue cheese made from cow's milk on the territory of Lombardy, in the vicinity of the cities of Como, Milan, Novara. The pulp can be white, yellowish and beige, with streaks of emerald or bluish mold, the consistency is soft, the crust is light brown interspersed with mold cultures. Head shape - cylinder, weight - from 6 to 12 kg. Consumers are offered young and ripe cheese. The first is Gorgonzola Dolce - soft, pasty, sweet, with a nutty undertone, the second - Gorgonzola Piccante - dryish, dense, crumbling when cut off, with a pungent aroma and piquant taste. Certified in 1995. In Italian, the variety is called Gorgonzola, other names are Gorgonzola or Gorgonzola.
How is Gorgonzola cheese made?
In most cases, cow's milk is used as a raw material (goat's or a mixture is allowed), for curdling - rennet, as a starter - a complex of mesophilic cultures and mold Penicillium Roqueforti. At food factories, before making Gorgonzola cheese, milk is pasteurized, enriched and cooled.
When produced at home, a change in the recipe is possible. Collect the evening and morning milk yield, curd separately and combine before cutting the grain, add cream or natural fresh yogurt to the raw materials. The factories refused to double curl.
The contents of the vats are heated to 28-36 ° C, the sourdough and a small amount of mold spores are introduced. They check the kale for a break, lifting it with a sharp knife. If the curd layer easily diverges, and the crack is filled with whey, you can proceed to cutting the cheese grains.
The size of the cubes is 2x2x2 cm. Vigorously stirring, the cheese grains are made to thicken and round. Part of the whey can be removed after settling.
Gorgonzola cheese, like other varieties, is not produced by pressing into molds. The cheese mass is laid out on drainage bags made of tightly woven cotton fabric and, in order to prevent the cheese mass from sticking in the bag, rolled from one corner to another. A third of the grains are set aside, the rest is processed for another 1 hour.
Then they proceed to pressing, without removing the intermediate raw materials from the drainage bag, setting the oppression. Turn over every hour. After separating the whey, break the "cakes" into several pieces and mix, adding mold in portions. The deposited grain is spread along the edges of the mold, and a mass with spores is placed inside. Cover with a layer of clean curd layer.
Oppression at this stage is not required - self-pressing occurs. Within 1 hour, the mold is turned over every 15 minutes, another 3-4 hours - every 40-60 minutes.
The heads are not immersed in the brine. Dry salt treatment takes place in 4 stages. Every day, the surface is rubbed with dry salt and placed in a chamber with a temperature of 10-13 ° C and a humidity of 93-95%. The manipulations are repeated for 4 days.
Then they are engaged in the activation of blue mold. For this, the heads are wrapped in a drainage mesh and put back into the chamber. A week later, punctures are made in the crust, which has already begun to form. This is necessary so that the fungi can "breathe". The distance between the holes must be at least 2 cm.
You can taste young cheese after 50-60 days, mature cheese - not earlier than after 3 months. During this time, the variety acquires a spicy characteristic taste and multiple veins in the delicate pulp.
In food factories, pressed heads are not kneaded like dough, separating cheese grains, but to speed up the cooking process, injections are made with mold spores. Therefore, the green-bluish veins are located almost parallel.
Composition and calorie content of Gorgonzola cheese
The energy value of the variety when produced on farms is slightly higher than that indicated. Indeed, goat's milk is often added to the composition of the feedstock.
The calorie content of Gorgonzola cheese made on a large food line is 315-330 kcal, of which
- Proteins - 17-18 g;
- Fat - 26-27 g;
- Carbohydrates - <1 g;
- Inorganic substances - 5 g.
Vitamins per 100 g
- Retinol - 0.192 mg;
- Beta Carotene - 0.074 mg;
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.029 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.382 mg;
- Vitamin B4, choline - 15.4 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 1.729 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0.166 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folate - 36 mcg;
- Vitamin B12, cobalamin - 1.22 mcg;
- Vitamin D, calciferol - 0.5 μg;
- Vitamin D3, cholecalciferol - 0.5 mcg;
- Vitamin E, alpha tocopherol - 0.25 mg;
- Vitamin K, phylloquinone - 2.4 μg;
- Vitamin PP - 1.016 mg.
Macronutrients per 100 g
- Potassium, K - 256 mg;
- Calcium, Ca - 528 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg - 23 mg;
- Sodium, Na - 1395 mg;
- Phosphorus, P - 387 mg.
Microelements per 100 g
- Iron, Fe - 0.31 mg;
- Manganese, Mn - 0.009 mg;
- Copper, Cu - 40 μg;
- Selenium, Se - 14.5 μg;
- Zinc, Zn - 2.66 mg.
Fats in Gorgonzola cheese per 100 g
- Fatty acids - 0.8 g;
- Saturated fatty acids - 18, 669 g;
- Monounsaturated fatty acids - 7.8 g;
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids - 0.8 g;
- Cholesterol 75 mg
Amino acids per 100 g:
- Irreplaceable - 10.7 g;
- Replaceable - 12, 3 g.
Gorgonzola cheese contains mono- and disaccharides (sugars) - 0.5 g
When assessing the impact of this variety on the human body, one should take into account not only the vitamin and mineral composition, but also the influence of mold crops.
In addition, the product is made without flavors, preservatives and flavors, hygiene rules are strictly observed. Therefore, it can be safely introduced into any diet - even if it is necessary to control its own weight. True, you will have to limit the amount eaten.
Useful properties of Gorgonzola cheese
Despite the presence of penicillin, which is grown as a pharmaceutical preparation, this fermented milk product has no medicinal effect. However, a beneficial effect on the human body has been proven.
Benefits of Gorgonzola cheese
- The easily digestible milk protein in the composition not only helps to replenish the reserve of nutrients, but also creates favorable conditions for increasing the activity of the intestinal flora.
- Normalizes the intestines, which increases the work of the body's defenses.
- Reduces blood clotting, stops the formation of blood clots.
- Regulates blood pressure and heart rate.
- Amino acids ingested with cheese accelerate organic protein synthesis.
- Due to the increased bioavailability of calcium in cheese, it increases bone strength and facilitates the production of synovial fluid. Improves the quality of skin, hair and nails.
- Reduces blood sugar levels.
- Possesses antimicrobial action.
- Thanks to its antioxidant properties, it prevents the synthesis of atypical cells of the intestinal mucosa, isolates free radicals circulating in the lumen of the loops, and promotes natural excretion from the body.
- Improves visual function, stops age-related changes.
- Stimulates appetite, increases the production of digestive enzymes and bile acids.
A subspecies of the Gorgonzola Piccante variety, aged for more than six months, can be introduced into the diet with lactase deficiency, since casein is almost completely transformed and does not cause digestive disturbances in case of intolerance to this substance in its pure form.
It is believed that this variety is an aphrodisiac for both women and men. Drinking with a glass of wine sets you up for a romantic mood, and a complex of useful substances has an exciting effect.
