Here's everything worth knowing about gorgonzola cheese and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 43 recipes to cook tonight.

What is gorgonzola cheese?

Gorgonzola is Italy's great blue cheese, made from cow's milk in the regions of Lombardy and Piedmont. Like all blues, it gets its green-blue veining from Penicillium mold worked into the curd, but gorgonzola is gentler and creamier than most.

It comes in two distinct styles. Gorgonzola dolce is young and spreadable, sweet and milky with just a whisper of funk. Gorgonzola piccante, sometimes labeled naturale or mountain gorgonzola, is aged longer until it turns firmer and much sharper.

Knowing which one a recipe wants is half the battle, because they behave very differently in a pan.

Cooking with gorgonzola

This is the blue cheese that melts. Where a crumbly aged blue tends to break and stay grainy, soft gorgonzola dolce loosens into a smooth, creamy sauce, which is exactly why Italians build pasta sauces on it.

Melt it gently into warm cream or a splash of pasta water over low heat. It turns into a glossy coat for Gnocchi Al Gorgonzola (Sauce) or a quick weeknight risotto, stirred in off the heat at the end so it does not split.

It is also a natural with steak. Whipped into a soft butter or mousse and set on a hot fillet, it melts into the meat, the move behind Peppercorn Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola & Chive Mousse.

Use dolce when you want it to melt into a sauce and piccante when you want sharp little pockets that hold their shape, as in a Chicken Gorgonzola.

Pairing and common mistakes

Gorgonzola wants a sweet or starchy partner to lean against.

Pears, walnuts, honey, figs, polenta, and gnocchi all balance its salt, and a glass of sweet wine like a Moscato or a late-harvest white is the classic match.

The most common mistake is boiling a gorgonzola sauce. Push it to a hard simmer and the proteins seize while the fat weeps out, leaving you with an oily, grainy mess. Keep the heat gentle and finish off the burner.

The second mistake is reaching for piccante when a recipe means dolce. Sub the sharp aged style into a delicate cream sauce and it can turn the whole dish bitter and overpowering. Match the style to the job.

Substitutes

Stay in the blue family for the closest match. A milder Danish blue or a young French blue can stand in for dolce, while a firm Roquefort or Stilton covers piccante with a sharper, saltier edge.

Plain blue cheese works for most cooking; just taste first, since many supermarket blues run drier and saltier than gorgonzola and will not melt as smoothly into a sauce.

If you only need creaminess and a hint of funk, mash a little blue into cream cheese or mascarpone. It gives you the spreadable body of dolce with a gentler bite, useful in dips and on crostini.

Buying and storing gorgonzola

Decide on dolce or piccante before you buy, since they are not interchangeable. Dolce looks pale and almost custardy at the cut face, while piccante is firmer and more heavily veined.

Good gorgonzola smells milky and faintly sharp. A harsh ammonia reek means it is past its prime and will taste bitter, so trust your nose at the counter.

Wrap it in wax paper or parchment, then loosely in foil. Keep it in the warmest part of the fridge so it can breathe.

Soft dolce is best within a week or so, while firmer piccante holds two to three weeks. Because gorgonzola is already mold-ripened, a little of its own surface blue is fine, but fuzzy pink or black growth means throw it out.

Quick facts

Where to find gorgonzola cheese: Gorgonzola cheese is usually found in the cheeses section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

软奶酪芝士

British (UK) term

Gorgonzola cheese

en français

fromage gorgonzola

en español

queso gorgonzola

Recipes using gorgonzola cheese

There are 43 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 43 recipes