Gorgonzola, what a passion: sweet or spicy, here's what to choose

You either love it or hate it. Difficult to have half measures with Gorgonzola. A few years ago, the late Vittorio Zucconi wrote: "I adore the" Zola ", indeed" the "Zola as they say in Milan, especially in a crispy oven-fresh michetta. Sublime. My wife runs away even from smelling it , and, when he is forced to put it back in the fridge wrapped in miles of foil and cellophane, he handles it like a piece of plutonium ". Already, the smell, pungent, invasive. Theoretically (and perhaps objectively) unpleasant. Yet able to tease the throats of enthusiasts without delay. Which are many, many. Even abroad, where Gorgonzola is among the five best-selling Italian cheeses (almost 40 percent of annual production is destined for export). Legend has it that his first fan was Charlemagne, although the most accredited historical sources start the production from the fifteenth century right in the town near Milan that gave him the name. Sweet or spicy? How often, in food and gastronomy, you hear this question …And even here we are divided between those who prefer the sweet, soft, creamy, versatile version in the kitchen; and those who are spicy, strong, strong, to accompany a good meditation wine. To each his own. Here is a small selection of high quality producers to taste it at its best. (A.s.)
Arrigoni
It is this summer that the Arrigoni Battista cheese factory wins the Gold Medal for the best "Italian soft cheese" at the 2019 International Cheese Awards held in Nantwich in England for its sweet Gorgonzola.
Success with the Silver Gorgonzola Piccante Medal in the even more prestigious World Cheese Awards held for the first time in Italy, in Bergamo, last October. A strong affirmation for this dairy initially born as a producer of Taleggio.Angelo Croce

It is one of the most loved and appreciated by producers. The company was founded in 1880, and is still firmly in the hands of the founder's family, now in its fourth generation. Many cheeses are made, from Taleggio to Stracchino. But it is precisely the Gorgonzola Dop the spearhead, both in the sweet version (the Panna Verde, which has however slight notes of spiciness) and in the properly spicy one (the Malghese, with a decidedly stronger taste, but at the same time soft and melting) on the palate).

Guffanti

Guffanti

Another long-standing story is that of Guffanti, a company founded in 1876 by the founder Luigi who began to season Gorgonzola in an abandoned silver mine in the province of Varese. A happy intuition, because the conditions of humidity and constant temperature gave the cheese extraordinary qualities, and in fact after a few years the company exported the forms both in North and in South America. Do not miss the "Spicy Gorgonzola Dop 200 days" for its intensity and aromas, refined twice or triple the norm.

Social Dairy

Gorgonzola Latteria di Cameri

A cooperative that unites about 20 conferencers, and that has made the craftsmanship of production, even in the presence of large numbers, its strong point. Founded in 1914 to support the production and distribution of the various farms in the area, it has gradually specialized in high-end cheeses, but always following the slogan of "Gorgonzola made as it once was", whose organoleptic properties are enriched in the vault maturing, nicknamed "The Treasure Island". The cheese to try? Without a doubt the spicy of the San Lucio selection.

Baruffaldi

Baruffaldi

The milk comes from non-intensive farms in the Novara area, beyond Ticino and the lower Milan area. The Baruffaldi family instead comes from the Valsassina, from where the progenitor Angelo moved to the late nineteenth century. Almost a century later, in 1970, another Angelo was among the founders of the Consortium for the protection of Gorgonzola. And to both is the flagship product, the sweet Gorgonzola “L’angelo”, of extraordinary softness. The spicy “Primula verde” is stronger and more rustic, but just as tasty.