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In the post-Soviet space, blue cheese remains a misunderstood product. We are used to throwing away what is covered with a multi-colored shaggy film, proceeding from our own safety. Therefore, the purchase would seem to have already spoiled the food, but the fabulous money leads us to a state of slight bewilderment. Until we can get used to the idea of colorful cheese, European countries are consuming tons of it and it seems that they have not yet suffered a decline in population.
Who is really right and is it worth spending on an expensive overseas snack?
How is cheese useful?
Nature decided to complicate human life and made most useful products unattractive. The times of natural selection have passed, and graduated scientists annually write for us whole lists of useful and harmful products. The list of useful products was also cheese with mold. Blue cheese is recognized as a masterpiece of cheese making and a tremendously useful food product, which does not fit with its specific smell and frankly unsightly appearance.
Gourmets loved blue cheese for a reason. Let us leave the history of creation, the peculiarities of taste, storage for the last and talk about the benefits for the human body. Scientists distinguish only 3 important categories: mold, vitamin composition and a variety of milk.
Why cheese mold (Penicillium) is considered noble
There are 2 main types of mold that are used for cheese making: Penicillium roqueforti and Penicillium glaucum. Through the injection they get into the cheese, develop and, importantly, enrich the product with useful nutrients, and do not turn it into food debris.
Noble mold reduces the risk of heart attacks, kills pathogens, promotes healing and improvement of intestinal functionality. Blue cheese belongs to the category of products that are good for the heart. It Penicillium has a beneficial effect on the work of the body and creates additional protection against infections.
Scientists use the “French paradox” to confirm the beneficial properties of blue cheese. What is it? France has the lowest rate of heart attack in the world. This is a proven fact, which is explained by 2 ineradicable food preferences of the French: blue cheese and red wine. Products have anti-inflammatory effects, clean the arteries / joints, which in old age helps to avoid heart attack and arthritis.
Noble mold contributes to the inhibition of aging.
French women are distinguished not only by their special romantic nature, but also by their longevity. The whole world speaks about the beautiful aging of local women: no skin problems, cellulite or huge furrows on the face, into which wrinkles are woven. Of course, there’s no need to hope for only blue cheese. In beautiful aging, the role is played by lifestyle, ecology, the presence / absence of stress, physical activity and rational eating habits.
Vitamin and nutrient composition of the product
The concentration of vitamins and healthy nutrients in blue cheese is high. After one cheese plate, the body is filled with retinol (vitamin A), calciferol (vitamin D), cobalamin (vitamin B12), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca). Why is the presence of these substances in the body important?
Let’s stop on 4 the main substances. Vitamin D, which is popularly referred to as “solar” vitamin, strengthens the musculoskeletal system, muscular system, teeth and immunity. According to the results of the study The Journal of the American Medical Association Calciferol reduces the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.
Cobalamin (vitamin B12) supports our nervous system. This component is responsible for relaxation, relaxation and tranquility.
As for potassium (K), The Institute of Medicine recommends using 4700 milligrams of nutrient daily. 30 grams of blue cheese contains 27 milligrams of potassium.
Nutrient is responsible for the functionality of metabolism, the maintenance of water balance in cells and tissues. The substance regulates energy exchange and helps a person to maintain performance throughout the day.
Calcium (Ca) improves memory and stimulates brain cells. The nutrient fights severe headaches, migraines, and according to French studies, it can reduce the risk of breast cancer by more than 50%. Another study from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that the substance is capable of burning subcutaneous fat. During the experiment, 2 groups of girls were tested. Some ate a special diet high in calcium, while others ate minimal amounts of the nutrient. The girls from the first group managed to burn 20 times more subcutaneous fat than the representatives of the second.
Goat / cow / sheep milk in cheeses
Nutrition experts have long been alarmed about the dangers of cow’s milk. Mankind has found salvation in plant types of milk (almond, coconut, hemp), but there is no need to completely abandon animal fat. Sheep and goat milk is much safer than cow’s milk: they have less lactose, hormones and antibiotics.
For the preparation of some types of cheese (Roquefort, Tanguy), sheep or goat’s milk is used, which plays into the hands of adherents of healthy eating. According to a study by the American Dairy Goat Association, goat milk has the lowest levels of saturated fat and bad cholesterol. Moreover, the product is a real storehouse of vitamins A, D, calcium and iron. Nutrients are easily and efficiently absorbed by the human body. Goat milk is considered to be hypoallergenic.
Hazardous properties of the product
The benefits of blue cheese easily turn into harms when abused or misused. Do not forget that cheese is the most high-calorie and salty product. Almost 70% of it consists of fat, the remaining 30% are various impurities, additives and accompanying ingredients.
100 grams of blue cheese contains an average of 340 kcal.
Considering that the diet of an average adult person is 2000 kcal, the number is quite impressive. The product can lead not only to the banal overeating, but also to:
- obesity;
- violation of food metabolism;
- eating habits;
- increase in cholesterol concentration in the blood.
With a daily diet of 2000 kcal, 25% of calories should be derived from fat and only 7% should be extracted from unsaturated fats.
Approach your own diet from a scientific point of view. Avoid bans, because the desire to break them will be much stronger than your common sense. Consume high-calorie foods wisely, competently fitting them into the daily KBRU and remember that health is much more important than a minute of gastronomic pleasure.
The history of the creation of blue cheese
A legend is associated with the making of blue cheese. A young shepherd was feeding a flock of sheep near the village of Roquefort. The shepherd was tired of the scorching sun and duties that had piled on him, that he decided to rest for a minute in the nearest cave. When he reached the cave, he decided to enjoy a piece of black bread and sheep’s cheese. At that moment, when the guy finally decided to eat, a young girl passed by the cave. The beauty of the girl turned out to be more important than dinner and the shepherd ran to get acquainted. The left lunch lay in the cave for an indefinite amount of time. By the return of the shepherd, the cheese was covered with blue mold. The young man was probably so annoyed that he didn’t have time to have a normal dinner or meet a girl, he spat on everything and ate a moldy piece of cheese. The shepherd was so amazed at the taste that he took up cheese making, received world-wide fame and forgot about the young beauty who ruined his lunch.
Historical fact: Charlemagne fell in love with blue cheese in 774. He called it one of the most exquisite dishes and presented it as a gift to the aristocracy. The Countess of Champagne Blanche of Navarre also used cheese as a special gift. She presented the beautifully packed brie to King Philip Augustus. Since then, the product has been called the “cheese of kings”.
Cooking “young” blue cheeses fanned not legends, but secrets. For example, Dorblus cheese was made in Germany in the twentieth century, but its original recipe is still kept secret.
Slavic cheese history
If the Europeans were most interested in cheese making, then in the Russian territories they did not make either ordinary hard or moldy cheese. We liked to use milk as a separate product, weighed it, cooked cottage cheese or butter. A special Russian cheese was made from cottage cheese by the so-called “raw” method: it was aged, pressed, very salty and dense. Such a product has been popular for several centuries and was called “home” cheese.
European cheeses came to the Russian territory with the help of Peter the Great. The people continued to eat “homemade cheese”, and the noblemen enjoyed the hard overseas delicacy or called the Dutch to them, so that they could teach people to cook cheese right in the provinces.
Historical fact: the paradoxical word “cheese factory” appeared precisely in the period of cheese madness. The word “cheese” comes from the word “raw.” The Europeans taught the Russians how to boil cheese, so that it simply could no longer be raw logically.
The first Russian cheese-maker was Nikolai Vereshchagin. The product of its production flooded all provinces, displacing the traditional “homemade cheese.”
Famous varieties of blue cheese
Dor blue
Cheese of German origin based on cow’s milk and blue mold. Dor-blue has become the most popular in the post-Soviet space (this is evidenced by the rate of consumption of the product). The reason lies in its neutral taste: not spicy, not salty, without bright accents. The taste of dor blue is as soft as possible, creamy and very delicate. Another advantage of Dor Blue is the cost. It is relatively inexpensive (unlike most blue cheeses) and can easily qualify for both a festive table and an on-duty family dinner.
Bree
Soft, with slightly sharp notes of French cheese based on cow’s milk and white noble mold. Brie, like many other foods, got its name from the area in which it first came into existence. Brie has an incredibly soft inside and a dense, crusty crust. The crust is covered with white mold and has a pronounced ammonia aroma.
Store brie in the refrigerator under a thick layer of paper so that the ammonia smell of the crust does not spread to other foods.
Roquefort
The most popular blue cheese in France. It is served with white Sauternes wine at the end of the meal, as the final chord of the meal. Traditional Roquefort matures in the south of France in massive stone grottoes. It is there that blue mold develops in its natural environment, covering the entire surface of Roquefort – Penicillium roqueforti.
For the industrial production of cheese, Penicillium roqueforti is bred in a special type of rye bread. If the Roquefort were ripening according to the classic recipe, the production of the product would take tremendous time and the cheese would be an expensive privilege of the rich strata of the population.
Gorgonzola
A blue dessert cheese that was first produced in the village of the same name. Gorgonzola is different from all French cheeses: it has a rough smell that is intertwined with bright nutty notes and a surprisingly mild taste with a sweet aftertaste. The texture of gorgonzola is pasty, with soft creamy accents. There are several types of Gorgonzola. The most popular of them is dolce. It is surprisingly tender and sweet cheese, the taste of which is compared to cheesecake.
Camembert
A soft blue cheese that is known for its mushroom flavor and high fat content. Salvador Dali argued that it was the taste of Camembert that inspired him to create fluid clocks for the painting “Persistence of Memory.” In the XIX century, the product gained popularity of the whole world. Especially for the Camembert, round wooden boxes were invented in which the product was exported to every corner of the planet.