Putting the Blue in Blue Cheese
he blue veins inside blue cheese are often very regular and are added before the curds are formed into wheels. The wheels are eventually pierced with stainless-steel needles; each opening creates a pathway for oxygen to enter and activate the dormant mold. The mold tends to grow best in the pathways created by the needles—which creates very even blue or green channels—but it also spreads out and grows in delicate, spidery patterns between the curds.
