Is Cheese Really Mold?

Some cheeses have a mold injected into them to create their flavor and taste such as a blue, Roquefort or a camembert to name a few. This type may also be aged in caves that have those mold spores actually in the caves such as some of them in France and the cheeses are allowed to get that mold and it grows throughout the product resulting in either blue or green veins of mold actually in it. In fact most molds are harmless, especially these molds.

If there is no cave with the mold in the air or walls then the producers inject mold into the product to encourage the mold growth. And they may inject mold into the product even if the cave has the mold spores in it so that when injected the mold encourages more consistent mold growth. You would not want to cut open a piece of roquefort and find it is entirely made of a blue or green mold and nothing else. Mold is supposed to enhance the taste and texture not overwhelm it.

As to other cheeses some of them may have mold growing on the rind. This is intended and this type of cheese would be those called blooming rind cheeses like brie where the interior is creamy and runny and the outside of the product has mold on it. You can also safely eat this rind even with the mold. Be aware the rind will be sharper or more pungent flavored than the inside and many people don’t care for it.

The other cheeses such as American or Swiss are created when the milk protein curdles due to an agent called rennet which is made up of enzymes. These enzymes may be natural such as animal rennet or may be laboratory created. They can also be from a fermentation of a fungus. So in theory one could say that cheese is created with mold but cheese is not really mold itself.

A cheese is a living breathing product which will mold if not properly stored. It will also grow mold if it is stored too long. If it is a harder variety such as one of the grating kind such as asiago or parmesan it will be less prone to mold quickly. The softer type such as brie or Provolone will mold faster especially if it has any pockets where moisture can house bacteria which creates mold.