Mold types of Cheese



Mold types of Cheese

Mold plays a deliberate and essential role in many of the world’s most famous cheeses. Far from being spoilage, specific molds are carefully selected, controlled, and cultivated to shape a cheese’s flavor, aroma, texture, and appearance.

🧠 Why Mold Is Used in Cheesemaking

Selected molds:

  • Break down proteins (proteolysis)

  • Break down fats (lipolysis)

  • Create unique aromas and textures

  • Protect cheese from harmful microbes

➡️ Mold turns milk into complex, aged cheese.

🍄 Major Mold Types Used in Cheese

🤍 1. White Mold (Bloomy Rind Cheeses)

Mold Species

  • Penicillium camemberti

  • Penicillium candidum

Role

  • Forms a white, fluffy edible rind

  • Softens cheese from the outside inward

Characteristics

  • Mild, buttery, mushroom-like flavors

  • Soft to runny texture when ripe

  • Short aging time

Examples

  • Brie

  • Camembert

  • Brillat-Savarin

  • Coulommiers

🔵 2. Blue Mold (Veined Blue Cheeses)

Mold Species

  • Penicillium roqueforti

  • Penicillium glaucum

Role

  • Grows internally in oxygen pockets

  • Creates blue-green veins

Characteristics

  • Bold, sharp, salty, earthy flavors

  • Crumbly to creamy textures

  • Strong aroma

Examples

  • Roquefort

  • Gorgonzola

  • Stilton

  • Danish Blue

  • Cabrales

🟠 3. Washed Rind Bacteria (Bacteria-Driven, Mold-Controlled)

Technically bacterial, but classified with mold-ripened cheeses due to surface ripening

Microorganism

  • Brevibacterium linens

Role

  • Creates orange/red sticky rinds

  • Suppresses white mold growth

Characteristics

  • Very pungent aroma

  • Mild, savory interior

  • Meaty, umami notes

Examples

  • Limburger

  • Époisses

  • Munster

  • Taleggio

  • Reblochon

🌫️ 4. Natural Rind Mold (Wild Mold Cheeses)

Mold Species

  • Mixed native molds (Penicillium, Geotrichum, yeasts)

Role

  • Develops naturally from the aging environment

  • Creates rustic, earthy complexity

Characteristics

  • Irregular rinds

  • Earthy, nutty, cellar-like flavors

  • Unique to each aging space

Examples

  • Tomme de Savoie

  • Comté (natural rind)

  • Gruyère

  • Farmhouse cheeses

⚪ 5. Geotrichum Rind (Wrinkled White Mold)

Mold Species

  • Geotrichum candidum

Role

  • Forms thin, wrinkled, brain-like rind

  • Prepares surface for other molds

Characteristics

  • Light mushroom aroma

  • Slightly tangy flavor

  • Smooth, creamy interior

Examples

  • Camembert (early stage)

  • Saint-Marcellin

  • Crottin de Chavignol (young)

🧪 Mold Comparison Table

Mold TypeColorFlavor ImpactCheese Style
White moldWhiteMild, butteryBrie, Camembert
Blue moldBlue-greenSharp, saltyRoquefort
Washed rindOrange-redSavory, umamiÉpoisses
Natural rindMixedEarthy, nuttyGruyère
GeotrichumWhite/grayLight, tangyCrottin

🧊 Are Cheese Molds Safe?

Yes—cheese molds are:

  • Food-safe

  • Carefully controlled strains

  • Different from household mold

❗ Mold on non-mold cheeses (Cheddar, Mozzarella) = spoilage
❗ Mold on mold-ripened cheeses = intentional & edible

🧠 How Mold Affects Texture

  • Surface mold → softens interior

  • Internal mold → crumbly or creamy veins

  • Bacterial rinds → sticky exterior, supple paste

⭐ Why Mold Cheeses Matter

Mold is a cornerstone of traditional cheesemaking, transforming milk into cheeses with depth, personality, and terroir. From creamy bloomy rinds to bold blue veins, mold expands cheese into a world of sensory complexity.

OTHER RESOUCES


Vacherin du Haut-Doubs cheese, a French cheese with a white Penicillium mold rind.
There are three main categories of cheese in which the presence of mold is an important feature: soft ripened cheeses, washed rind cheeses and blue cheeses.

Soft-ripened
Soft-ripened cheeses begin firm and rather chalky in texture, but are aged from the exterior inwards by exposing them to mold. 

The mold may be a velvety bloom of P. camemberti that forms a flexible white crust and contributes to the smooth, runny, or gooey textures and more intense flavors of these aged cheeses. 

Brie and Camembert, the most famous of these cheeses, are made by allowing white mold to grow on the outside of a soft cheese for a few days or weeks. Goat's milk cheeses are often treated in a similar manner, sometimes with white molds (Chèvre-Boîte) and sometimes with blue.

Washed-rind
Washed-rind cheeses are soft in character and ripen inwards like those with white molds; however, they are treated differently. 

Washed-rind cheeses are periodically cured in a solution of saltwater brine and/or mold-bearing agents that may include beer, wine, brandy and spices, making their surfaces amenable to a class of bacteria Brevibacterium linens (the reddish-orange "smear bacteria") that impart pungent odors and distinctive flavors, and produce a firm, flavorful rind around the cheese. 

Washed-rind cheeses can be soft (Limburger), semi-hard, or hard (Appenzeller). 

The same bacteria can also have some impact on cheeses that are simply ripened in humid conditions, like Camembert. 

The process requires regular washings, particularly in the early stages of production, making it quite labor-intensive compared to other methods of cheese production.

 Smear-ripened
Some washed-rind cheeses are also smear-ripened with solutions of bacteria or fungi, most commonly Brevibacterium linens, Debaryomyces hansenii, and/or Geotrichum candidum which usually gives them a stronger flavor as the cheese matures. 

In some cases, older cheeses are smeared on young cheeses to transfer the microorganisms. Many, but not all, of these cheeses have a distinctive pinkish or orange coloring of the exterior. 

Unlike with other washed-rind cheeses, the washing is done to ensure uniform growth of desired bacteria or fungi and to prevent the growth of undesired molds. Notable examples of smear-ripened cheeses include Munster and Port Salut.

Blue
So-called blue cheese is created by inoculating a cheese with Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium glaucum. This is done while the cheese is still in the form of loosely pressed curds, and may be further enhanced by piercing a ripening block of cheese with skewers in an atmosphere in which the mold is prevalent. 
The mold grows within the cheese as it ages. These cheeses have distinct blue veins, which gives them their name and, often, assertive flavors. 

The molds range from pale green to dark blue, and may be accompanied by white and crusty brown molds. Their texture can be soft or firm. Some of the most renowned cheeses are of this type, each with its own distinctive color, flavor, texture and aroma. 

They include Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Stilton.

VIDEO:



Labels: