Gorgonzola Cremifacto

Last week Alex was wandering through the aisles at Whole Foods. He was actually picking up some last minute items for a dinner we were catering. One of the things that was not on his list was cheese, as we already had a pretty cool one that we were planning to feature. This being Alex though, he was unable to resist the siren call of the cheese department and ambled over there to take a look at what they had in stock.  Our cheese course changed the instant he came across the Gorgonzola Cremifacto.

This savory blue cheese was so rich and runny that they spooned it into a deli container instead of wrapping it up in paper or plastic. The texture was incredibly luxurious. It was silky and elastic, melting slowly on the palate. The flavor of the cheese was assertive without being overly aggressive, with an earthy tang that lingered long after the cheese itself was just a memory.

Gorgonzola is an Italian cheese that is produced in Piedmont and Lombardy. It is a blue veined cheese made from cow's milk. There are different varieties, the most common being the Piccante Gorgonzola or Gorgonzola Naturale and the Gorgonzola Dolce. The Dolce is a softer, sweeter cheese, with a higher fat content and a creamy texture. The Piccante is a firmer cheese. It is aged for a minimum of three months and often for much longer. It is much sharper and spicier in flavor with a chalky, crumbly texture. The Gorgonzola Cremifacto seems to be more in the style of a Dolce. It is enriched with heavy cream and aged for three months to produce the lovely, runny cheese that we so enjoyed last week.

We served it with strawberries that were compressed with a touch of smoked balsamic, some sliced chives and a bit more vinegar on the plate. The sweetness of the fruit and the lightly smoked acid of the vinegar provided a beautiful counterpoint to this luscious cheese.