In the world of cheese families, you know the one, the general rule of thumb is that the older brother is always the jerk. While little brother is sweet and non-confrontational, older brother is fiery and rude. Little brother bakes cookies. Big brother eats them and replaces them with coal. Little brother buys a puppy. Big brother puts one of those collar-biscuit contraptions on it so it runs away but can never quite reach the biscuit. Little brother is aged 3-5 months, big brother is aged around 6 months and is a jerk. A tasty tasty jerk.
And.... hold on.
Sorry, I got lost in there somewhere, today's cheese is Gorgonzola Piccante.
Origin: Lombardy, Italy
Milk: Cow, pasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: 6-8 months
Notes: All the same lovely stats as the more easily palatable "dolce" version, but aged to a prickly sharpness. Also known as Gorgonzola "naturale" depending on who is labeling it.
Thoughts: Usually a very fine, almost gritty, texture and very sharp flavor would be very dissagreable but this Gorgonzola breaks the rule. Even in the thick of the sharpness it remains smooth enough to be not just palatable but delicious. The strong aftertaste makes for a good complete package, but on the whole I still prefer the "dolce" version. The piccante certainly has a more intense flavor, but I find that the dolce is much more rounded and generally more decadent. Unfortunately it's no Roquefort nor Stilton, and the sharpness comes across as lacking some of the soul of the dolce. Check it out to get that perspective on how cheeses age, but for me dolce will always be the best.
Just To Set The Record Straight
The middle child/cheese is always way cool and everyone likes him. Or her. Or it, in the case of cheese.
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