Ciresa Gorgonzola PDO Piccante Cheese

Compared to the Gorgonzola Dolce, the piccante version is obviously sharper, hence the 'piccante'. Still a very creamy cheese, Gorgonzola is know as the big Italian Blue cheese. Besides piccante, this sharper Gorgonzola is also referred to as Mountain Gorgonzola or Gorgonzola Stagionato. This Italian blue gourmet cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and has distinctive, greenish/blue veining visible throughout the paste that develops during the 80 days of aging. Compared to the Dolce, this Gorgonzola has a slightly thicker rind and is more crumbly whereas the Dolce is creamier. The name Gorgonzola seems to come from the town of the same name in the province of Milan where the cows, from the Po Plain, moved during the summer to the Alpine pastures, were organized in herds; on their return in the autumn, again in Gorgonzola, the herdsmen would sell the cheese made in the summer at the market. The origin of this cheese has always been linked with legends, stories and anecdotes, as there is no certain information or documents about when or where it came into being. Literature documents how Gorgonzola had been known and appreciated in Italy and Europe for centuries.