Although there are thousands of known species of mold, only a small handful are used in food production. Cheese making utilizes different strains of mold to produce White Mold Cheeses as well as Blue Cheeses.
Easily distinguishable by their appearance, mold aged cheeses have unique tastes. Often the flavors attributed to cheese molds are umami and mushroom though molds can also add picante and richness to a well aged cheese.
Mold aged cheeses are unique and to those to love cheese they may be considered beautiful. A perfect white coat of mold on a Camembert with its mushroom aroma and creamy center is one of the world’s favorites. The veins of blue mold running through a wheel of Blue Cheese can be stunning. Where the mixed coat of various molds found on a natural rind cheese produces a finish that can only be produced through painstaking Affinage.