which it is reasonable to count as one of the three great blue cheeses of the world (the others being Stilton and Roquefort), takes its name from the village of Gorgonzola near Milan, where it was first made.
It belongs to the Stracchino family of cheeses, which is to say that it is a whole milk, white, ‘uncooked’ cheese. It may properly be called stracchino di Gorgonzola or stracchino verde (green stracchino). The blue (or greenish) veins which distinguish it are produced by a Penicillium mould. The cheeses were traditionally ripened in cold, draughty caves near Gorgonzola for a full year. Modern methods of manufacture are quicker, but Gorgonzola remains an expensive product.
A distinction is made between young cheeses (dolce or nuovo) and older ones (piccante or vecchio). A white Gorgonzola is also available in Italy; it may be sold under the name panerone.
Because the veins in Gorgonzola are so often green, London's old green-marbled Stock Exchange was known as Gorgonzola Hall.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
