Gorgonzola

A blue cheese from Italy. Gorgonzola is one of the world's most famous blue-veined cheeses, originating from Lombardy and Piedmont in northern Italy. This DOP-protected cheese has a creamy, supple body laced with blue-green mold veins that give it a salty, mildly pungent flavor. This is the dolce variety: softer and creamier than the piccante.

The texture is soft and spreadable, almost like a thick cream. The flavor is complex yet approachable: salty, lightly sweet, with that distinctive blue-vein bite that lingers on the palate. Gorgonzola is one of the most versatile blue-veined cheeses around, just as delicious on its own as it is stirred into pasta, risotto or a salad.

Pairs well with: a glass of Amarone, Sauternes or a Belgian abbey ale. Melt it through pasta with walnuts, serve with pear and honey, or enjoy it pure on the cheese board. Combine it with Roquefort for a Franco-Italian blue-vein showdown, or with Stilton for the English equivalent.