Significance

• Cheese is not a type of mold, but mold is used in the cheese-making process for some types of cheese.

Types

• Some types of cheese that are made using mold include Roquefort, blue cheese, Gorgonzola, Camembert, Stilton, and Brie. It is not safe to eat these cheeses if they have surface or internal mold that was not part of their manufacturing process.

Considerations

• Mold is not used to make hard cheeses like asiago, cheddar, and Parmesan. Surface mold on hard cheeses can be cut off and, so long as the mold has not penetrated too deeply into the cheese, the rest of the cheese block is still edible.

Effects

• The purpose of using mold in the manufacturing of some cheeses is to speed up the aging process. A cheese maker may add mold powder to his mix when creating surface-ripened or interior-ripened cheese.

Misconceptions

• The misconception that cheese is nothing but mold is false. In fact, mold on cheese can release potentially harmful toxins and is highly undesirable.