Why is gorgonzola mold delicious and safe to eat, while bread mold is bad to eat?
Actually, the mold that’s used to make blue cheeses, like Gorgonzola, often starts off as bread mold. In the french caves where Roquefort is made, loaves of rye bread almost 3 ft in diameter are left in the caves with the ripening cheeses so that they become inoculated by the same mold, Penicillium roqueforti, that is used in all blue cheeses. After awhile, the bread becomes moldy through and through, at which time it’s powdered; it’s this powder that’s injected into the fresh cheeses to grow into the distinctive blue-green veining. The problem with foods, including bread, that mold outside of such a controlled environment is that you can’t tell what species of mold is growing on it. It may be Penicillium roqueforti, but it could just as well be one of many species that produce powerful “mycotoxins“, which can cause serious illness, or even aflatoxins, which are carcinogenic. Sources:
