So some cheeses seem to be toxic for you if you eat them when they have mold on them, while others are mainly being consumed when they get moldy. Why is it so that some types of cheese will make you sick, while you can eat others without a problem?
In: Chemistry
Blue Cheese has MOLD in it?!?!?!?
There are actually some Gouda cheeses with a blue mold. https://www.goudskaashuis.nl/webshop/kaas/boerenkaas/gouds-blauw/
cheese is super confusing. mold, no mold is one thing. Stinky is sometimes ok, sometimes not ok. The worst part for me is knowing when to eat or not eat the rind. I’ve started eating it on most cheeses now and haven’t died yet, but sometimes it does taste pretty waxy.
Let me be the first to tell you that blue-veined gouda exists and it is DELICIOUS. My favorite cheese I ever had was a blue-veined gouda, but sadly I cannot find it now because my local cheese shop closed last year.
If I rember correctly, it isn’t uncommon that cheeses are aged in a “shell” of compacted mold on the surface to both change the flavor/texture profile of the cheese as well as protect it from bad molds and bacteria. Brie, for example.
I was as a cheesemaker for 2 years (until covid) – finally a use for a lot of now useless knowledge!
When we make blue cheese we add bacteria to the milk that introduces blue mould spores. The bacteria comes from labs and we know it’s safe to eat so when that cheese starts growing blue fur, we know even though it looks mouldy, it’s safe to eat.
If you take home a Gouda and it grows blue mould in your fridge, you don’t necessarily know where that mould came from because it’s not in a controlled environment, so it isn’t guaranteed to be safe to eat.
If a Gouda in our dairy sits too close to a blue cheese and starts growing blue mould it’s just as safe to eat as our blue cheese because it’s in a controlled environment and we know where the blue came from.
TLDR: Blue mould from cheesemaker = good. Blue mould from your fridge = bad. Doesn’t really matter what the cheese is.
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