Blue Cheese

Blue cheese is a veined cheese made from cow's or sheep's milk streaked with blue-green mold. It is pungent, salty, and tangy with a creamy-crumbly texture and a peppery aroma, and it works well crumbled on salads and burgers, melted into sauces, or blended into dips and dressings; it is sold as wheels, wedges, and pre-crumbled packs. Many versions are made with animal rennet; vegetarian versions use microbial rennet.

Blue cheeses developed across Europe, with notable styles like Roquefort in France, Gorgonzola in Italy, and Stilton in England. Modern production inoculates curds with Penicillium roqueforti and pierces wheels during aging to promote veining, and the style is now made worldwide.